A mystery Named Harry Potter
by bivz643
Summary: During the summer after her 3rd year, Daphne finds out that she is betrothed to Harry Potter. Journey with Daphne as she discovers who exactly is this Gryffindor and how he reacts to a world at war? (AU: Harry is not the boy-who-lived HP/DG) (Hiatus)
1. My grandfathers last wish

Disclamer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its character.

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Currently most of the wizarding world is thinking about the events after the quidditch world cup where the dark mark was seen for the first time in 13 years. Ignoring the exaggerations and apparent cover up in the daily prophet, the fear among wizards and witches is quite apparent. There is this fear in everyone's eyes, while they try to conceal it, is quite evident especially with those that survived the first war. It is fairly safe to deduct that the foremost thought in peoples mind is that is the war coming back, even if no one voices their opinion.

However for me there is something completely different that I am thinking about. Right now I am sitting next to my grandfather, Cyprus Greengrass, who seems to be in the last moments of his life. He may be old and week yet he still holds this aura of power that demands respect. While growing up, my father was busy with the wizengamot and my mother taking care of the family business, so it was my grandfather who raised me while my grandmother raised Astoria. I may have been pampered like a royal princess but he also was a very tough teacher. I will gladly say that the fabled ice queen of Slytherin is a persona well crafted under the guidance of my grandfather, for which I thank him with all my heart. No the thing that I am thinking about right now is when my beloved grandfather will pass on to his next great adventure.

"Daphne" he calls for me and I understand the gesture, so I sit down next to him holding his hand. "My sweet princess, it seems just like yesterday that I held you for the first time. This small, cute little baby with Athena's blue eyes. I think she will forgive me if I say that you were the most beautiful girl I ever laid eyes on." Oh how I wish Astoria was here to listen to my grandfather praise me. "Daphne" he continued "I have taught you every thing I could and loved you with all my heart. Never in the past 14 years I have asked you for anything in return. But now as a dying man I ask for 2 things. First I ask you for forgiveness of a drunken mistake of my youth and second I ask you to honor my last wish."

Now that took everyone by surprise. Why was my grandfather asking for my forgiveness. He has never wronged me and never has he been harsh on me. He may have been tough on me but it was never unjust. His tutelage has made me what I am today, never am I going to hold his teachings against him. And what did he mean by a drunken mistake. No there was definitely something missing.

"Why do you ask for forgiveness grandfather?" I ask him.

" you see when Athena was pregnant with your father, my best friend learnt about his wife was expecting his firstborn." Now that was new, Cyprus Greengrass never addressed anyone as his friend, leave alone a best friend. "So to celebrate this wonderful news we went out drinking. So after we were thoroughly out of our senses we went to Gringotts to sign a marriage contract between the two houses. Oh how the goblins laughed at us in the next morning, while Athena and Dorea exiled us out made us sleep in the porch for our stupidity." I really don't like where this is going. I use all my Occlumency shields to hide my displeasure.

"So at Gringotts we made a marriage contract between the two houses but it never came to be because both our children were males. It didn't help that your father and James didn't get along till their last year." At this my father groans. "No please anyone but his spawn. I still don't like him. The only reason I tolerated that pompous brat is because Lily and Anastasia were friends." The look on my dad's face shows how clearly he disapproved of this arrangement. Then it hits him "Oh my god, If I was a girl or if he was a girl I would have been married to him" My dad visibly shudders. Oh the glare my mother was giving my dad for his reaction. He is definitely sleeping in the couch tonight.

"Daniel Greengrass, How dare you speak of a war hero like that. He may have been a pompous brat when he was young but at least show the respect for the dead." My mother scolded him with such anger in her voice that the usual demeanor of my father shrunk immensely. "But Ana. The things he did to us Slytherins, how can we not hate him. Old Sevy still holds a very strong grudge against James. His speech is just dripping with venom while he talks about the marauders." My dad really tries to reason with my mom but its really not helping his case. "No matter what he may have done. Don't take it out on his son. Also remember he is Lily's son too and I will not hear you insulting her family." Yup dad had definitely dug his grave. Good luck dad.

"Leaving your petty rivalry aside," grandfather continued "the terms of the contract were only fulfilled with you Daphne. So I ask you to forgive me for this marriage contract." Oh shit. If I hadn't loved my grandfather as much as I did, I would not have been so calm and forgiving as I am right now.

"Isn't there any way to dissolve this contract?" I ask. Might be there is a little hope. Maybe I could ask my betrothed to cancel the contract. Maybe I could activate an escape clause.

"Yes princess there is a way out of the contract." As he said it I was getting hopeful but I could still sense his but coming. "Its not really that difficult too. All you have to do is say no and the marriage contract becomes null and void, however" there it was. I knew it was coming 'The catch.' I knew it couldn't be that simple. Just a simple no, which pure-blood would keep a clause like that in a marriage contract. So I paid rapt attention to my grandfather for the conditions.

"Here I wish you to honor my last wish. My last wish Daphne is that I want you to at least get to know the boy before you decide to know the boy. I have met him and I think he is a fine gentlemen with the brains needed for all the titles he holds in the wizarding world. I had a really interesting conversation with him about pure-blood politics and wizarding prejudice. I see a lot of Charles in him. And to know that he was raised by Andromeda is in itself a boon for me. Plus from the look in your mothers face I know that she approves of my choice and your father's opinion really doesn't matter right now." I look at my mother and her face confirms what my grandfather said.

"Yes, my lord." My mother responds, traitor. "I met the boy in our apothecary while he was buying his first year ingredients. He approached me regarding for recommendations about books to read in potions. I had a really interesting chat with him and we still correspond with each other. I find him to be a great choice for either of my daughters. He is kind, sweet and honest, a perfect gentleman if you ask me." My fathers head perks up at this. "So that's who Hedwig belongs too. Huh I would never have guessed it was him. But isn't he too young to ask questions like he does in those letters and the type of books you send him is way beyond his reading level." It seems like my fathers reservation for the boy seems to be reducing. Now that intrigued me of the boy's identity. Not many things could change my father's opinion that fast.

"Well Daniel being a raven, I do not judge intelligence by age. I think the boy is one of the smartest of his age. I have considered many of his opinion to develop new potions for our own firm. I am to proxy some of his theories on potion brewing and recipes as he is too young to patent it himself like the new wolfsbane potion that I am working on. He is a genius if you ask me. Plus the strawberry cheesecake that you love so much is actually his recipe." Where did that come from. My fathers all time favorite sweet is actually a recopied my betrothed gave to my mother, talk about making an impression.

"Wait a minute, that summer intern of yours that you hire is actually James son. Shit, how could I have missed that. He looks so much like his father with his mothers eyes." He seemed to be in thought for a moment before you continued. "He made those cookies, macaroons and cake that you bring home sometimes for the kids ." Noooooo…. don't tell me my mothers chocolate chip cookies that she brings back from work is actually made by my betrothed. How can I hate him if he makes such good cookies. Oh how addicted I am to those cookies. "Yup." My mum picked up baking after I went to school. With the sweet-tooth that runs in my family, my dad was the happiest out of my mom's new hobby though she wasn't a professional her cheesecake and brownies were par with Florean "I teach him potions and he teaches me how to bake. Plus the cake that I bring for all of your birthday parties is actually made by him."

And there goes my dad's support. My dad always asked my mom where she got those cakes but she would just tease him and not tell. I think he has tasted every cake shop in London to find the bakery, including muggle bakery too.. My dad may not be a big fan of chocolate but he does like desserts. If I wasn't already betrothed to him, I am sure my dad would have got us engaged so that he could exploit his cooking.

All right all right I get it. He is a good match and he has my families approval. I will at least give him a chance to be friends with him. "Okay, I will at least try to be friends with him. I just hope he's not too old." I respond. "oh you don't need to worry about that dear, he's actually a gryffindor in your year." What? What do you mean he is in my year. The way everyone is talking about him, he seems to be some genius doing his mastery or something. The minimum requirement for the internship in the shop is to have completed your newts. Plus the only genius we have in my year is Granger and she really doesn't fit the bill.

The puzzled look in my face causes my dad and grandfather to chuckle. "oh honey, I thought you already figured out who he was. It's actually quite obvious who we are talking about. Even Astoria knows him pretty well." No it can't be. There is no way its him. No, n, no, no, no, Astoria is really not going to like this. I pray to merlin that its not him. I really don't want to fight Astoria for him.

My prayers goes unanswered as I hear my father murmur "She's going to kill us." when he realizes about his and Astoria's relationship. My mother responds to him with "Well he is her best friend and first crush. She'll just need to get over the fact that now he's going to be her brother-in-law." He visibly gulped. The trouble maker as she was, my sister could throw one hell of a temper tantrum when she didn't get what she wanted. "is it really him? why cant Astoria have him." I ask

"Yes dear, your betrothed is Harry potter and it cant be Astoria because the contract is between the firstborn children."


	2. Thinking About Harry Potter

'Astoria is going to kill me.' That's the first thing that came to my mind when my grandfather confirmed that Harry Potter is my betrothed. The whole family knew how smitten she was with him. It was too obvious. While growing up we didn't have many friends, the kids that we met were all pure-bloods so we knew them to be the snobs that tried to flaunt how rich their family was. These kids were more concerned about making others feel little or bragging about their gifts rather than making friends. I was saved from this fate because of my best friend Tracy Davis. Astoria was saved from this fate because of Harry Potter.

The two of them in our apothecary in Diagon Alley one day. I think it was the same day that my mother met him. I don't ask Astoria much about her friendship with Potter because one, he is a Gryffindor and two she never shuts up when she start talking about him. Her favorite toy currently is a giant teddy bear that he gave her for Christmas in my first year. It was actually through that teddy bear that I realized that they were friends. And the way I have seen them interact, he spoils like a fairy tale princess. She has him wrapped her all around her little fingers.

To be honest I don't care much about what Astoria does. It's not that I don't love her. Oh I love her to bits but Astoria can be a handful. She has this mischievous streak inside her that without a certain level of tolerance will drive you insane. Many time I have been in the receiving end of her pranks as I am her favorite victim or test subject. I have lost count of the number of times she has turned my hair color into something awful like violet or orange or even rainbow. At least 5 Christmas I have been woken up with chilling cold water being poured onto me and the number my dresses and toys she has destroyed has caused a lot of head-aces for the whole family. Therefor I try to stay away from Astoria as much as possible. You never know what she has up her sleeve.

However I do take my sisterly duties seriously. After that Christmas I did start observing the boy named Harry Potter. I may not be a stalker but I do take interest in him. The first thing anyone notices about Harry Potter is that he is not someone who likes the spotlight. He doesn't have a commanding presence, he is neither fat nor malnourished. He is just how an average boy should be. He doesn't talk much in class and he doesn't have a particular group that he hangs out with. If you aren't taking notice, it is really easy to forget that a boy named Harry Potter exists. However I think he is the most liked person in all of Hogwarts.

You see the Gryffindors of our year is a tight nit group that follows that hero worships the boy who lived, Neville Longbottom. You can always see the 4 boys (Ron, Seamus and Dean) and 3 girls (Hermione, Parvati and Lavender) trailing their defacto leader while Neville Longbottom flaunts his Boy who lived status. Yet you never see Harry Potter with them ever. Most of the time Potter can be seen alone reading a book. He is not the type of person who spends all the day in the Library that's for sure but you will always see him with a book or scribbling away in his notebook. The times that I have seen him in the library its mostly with the younger years, helping them with their homework. I have seen Nott and Zabini approach him for help in their own assignments for charms.

When I asked them why they approached him their response was "Flitwick told them to and he's a really great guy." Many of the meals you can see Potter laughing with the puffs or having a serious discussion with the ravens. Most of the Slytherin juniors seem to know Potter while some claim him to be the most approachable guy in school. He always keeps a smile in his face and he never says no. The seniors seem to respect Potter for who he is. Most of the seniors in Slytherin have sided with Potter a lot of times. While the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor prohibits interaction within the two houses, I have noticed Potter sitting among the seniors especially those who are in the dueling club or those that are aspiring to be politicians. I even remember Terrence Higgs telling Draco to not pick on Potter.

During classes he is a quite students who takes a lot of notes. He has never been reprimanded in class but neither has he been praised. He is generally one of the first to get a spell correct but goes unnoticed due to the ever vocal Granger. Yet in class all the teachers seem to hold a certain degree of respect for the boy. Many teachers actually do recommend student to approach Potter for help over Granger, though Granger holds the highest marks in the class and Potter is graded at 9 or 10. Even Snape seems to tolerate Potter by Gryffindor standards however he seems to criticize him the hardest while he is working. Yet the instruction that Snape gives Potter during class are not your average instruction.

So in general Harry Potter seems to be a really good guy but there are times where I think that the Harry Potter the School knows is just a façade. There aren't many times that his good guy mask slips but because my grandfather taught me how to look for particular things that I have this speculation. Now I am not saying he is this next Dark Lord coming sense, no. I think the real Harry Potter is someone who was forced to mature too fast and not given the privilege called childhood. The first time I noticed his Mask was the Halloween of second year.

Its actually easy to say that Halloween is his least favourite day of the year. He always has this sad and distant look as if he is morning for something. During that day he does the bare minimum. He doesn't respond to anyone that day be it teachers or students and the only time you see him is during classes or meals. I think he is the only one who always misses the Halloween feast. The odd thing however is that the teachers never say anything to him. He gets off with a detention the he serves either with one of the Teachers.

The second time I noticed the suffering in Potter's eyes would be after the dementor attack in the Hogwarts express last year. Professor Lupin found Harry Potter fainted in one of the last carriages in after the dementor attack and was hurriedly portkeyed him to Hogwarts. He was unconscious for a week after that particular incident. Madam Pomfree said that it was due to the drain of magical energy but there were many rumors going around which stated that he got kissed by the dementor. Obviously that rumor was proved wrong when Potter woke up. It took Harry a month to get over that incident and back to his cheerful self. While everyone claimed it was because of the dementor, his eyes seemed to tell a story of its own. His eyes seemed as if he say the death of someone very precious to him. Very similar to those that he has in Halloween.

The third time where I say the façade of cheerful harry slip was the end of last year after Professor Lupin quit his job. As usual the Loud mouth named Draco Malfoy was rambling on to anyone who was listening how Hogwarts had fallen by employing someone like Lupin. Though not many people paid attention to him, He was really starting to get into our nerves. Without a doubt, professor Lupin had become one of the most favourite teachers in Hogwarts. Especially after the narcissistic moron named Lockhart. He had a vast knowledge in Defense and he made it a point to keep his classes entertaining. Even those that were prejudiced against werewolves acknowledged the fact that Lupin was a great teacher. But Draco Malfoy for who he was just kept going on and on and on about Lupin being a werewolf.

During these ramblings there was one person that I noticed who was really loosing his patience with Draco Malfoy and his name was Harry Potter. Everyone in the school knew of the relationship between Harry and Lupin, so Malfoy insulting Lupin was like a ticking time bomb. It was gradual but every time Malfoy rambled on and on the flame of hatred burnt in those green eyes. The way he looked at Malfoy showed so much malice it still gives me the creeps thinking about it. Then one morning, Draco Malfoy just shut up. That morning it seemed that Malfoy had seen his worst nightmare. No one knows what happened or who did what but it was the first time we saw true fear in the eyes of Draco Malfoy. That day during breakfast Harry Potter had this sinister smile plastered in his face that could rival any of those criminal masterminds in muggle television shows. It didn't help with Malfoy trying to stay as far away from Potter as possible.

Thinking about all the things that I know from my past observation and the new information I got yesterday created this real enigma called Harry Potter. I didn't know what to think about him. The way my mother talked about him was as if he was her long lost son or something. And his correspondence with my mother was really surprising too. I have seen his snowy owl quite a lot of time at home but they are generally to Astoria not my mother. Now considering that he works for my mother I see why he never wrote to her during the vacations.

My grandfather also seemed to have a very good impression of the boy, which is not easy to get. My grandfather never judges a person from his first impression. No to hold a positive impression with my grandfather you would need to fill in a lot of his criteria that he judges over a lot of meetings over time. Now considering how frequent my grandfather goes to the Apothecary I can safely assume that they have had a lot of interaction. Which is not surprising cause he wont just give his precious princess away to a nobody.

Though my father was reserved of the contract he seems to like the boy or is warming up to the idea after he figured out who the boy was. As I know how hard it is to change his mind about something, Potter must have made quite an impression on him from the beginning.

Then there was Astoria. I really don't want to tell her I'm betrothed to her best friend/prince charming. No she's going to chew me alive. I can see t all happening in front of me. She throwing a temper tantrum and claiming Harry to hers and hers alone. Then she would use our Grandma's wand to hex me till I gave her Harry back. Then she would start going through all my precious stuff and start burning them while laughing like the evil witch that she is. I swear to god if we are going to get married I'm going make Potter say that its all his fault and make him face Astoria's Wrath. I'm going to act as the victim as I should be in front of Astoria and leave it till the last moment. Maybe she will forgive me if I make her my maid of honour.

Though it is cruel being maid of honour in your prince charming's wedding. The cruelty in itself is enough compensation enough of all Astoria has done to me.

Now leaving Astoria aside I wonder how people are going to react. Though Potter may not be one of the hottest guys in Hogwarts, he does have the most beautiful eyes there. Well baring Astoria I can say I wont be having much of a problem but I wonder how people will treat Potter. Though I may be just developing there are many people who have been eyeing me this past year. Well at least the betrothed saves a lot of headache's for my parents to fend of other suitors.

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A/N: Thank you for the support. I think you can expect quick update. I have the first 5-6 chapters planned out. And when I run out of ideas I will be doing some filler chapters. they will be during the same time line but from a different perspective (probably Harry's). Im open for suggestions too.

Spoiler: (for those who are wondering and can't wait for faster updates) here Harry will not be the super Powerful dark out for revenge kind of character. he is a Good harry with a dark side. the later chapters will be Daphne discovering who exactly Harry is and falling in love with him. And don't expect him to be friends with Ron and Hermione. There will be slight bashing but I'll try to limit it cause not many people like it. To be honest I think the 2 of them hold back harry a lot.

Another thing Talking about pairing. Do you guys want to see multi pairings? I will add one more and it will be Astoria. There aren't many fics with daphne Astoria. however if i add astoria as a love interest it will only be when she grows up i.e. when she reaches third or 4 year.


	3. The Hogwarts Express

After thinking and brooding over the news of betrothed, I never realized it was already the 1st of September. So I picked my luggage, bid farewell to my grandfather and apparated to Kings Cross Stations. The station is crowded as ever and the overdramatic good-byes really don't have an appeal to me. While I revert back to my iconic Ice queen demeanor, my father has dawned his Lord Greengrass mask. After all moments of weakness are not meant to be displayed for the public eye. Well that however doesn't stop my mother and sister to say their dramatic good-byes.

So while Astoria and my mother finish their family soap opera, my father helps me load our trunks in our compartments. By the time we get back my mother has composed herself while Astoria is nowhere to be found. I won't be surprised if she has run away to find Potter, _my betrothed_. As its time for my parents to leave I hug them goodbye and wait in the compartment for my friends.

I really don't understand why there is so much tears while going to Hogwarts. With the amount of tears that people shed you would think it the parents will never see their children again. I mean really its just till the Yule festivities or the summer break. Its not like the kids are going to face certain death. Then there are the students themselves. One moment they are crying to their mothers and the other they have forgotten what home really means. Talk about being fickle.

Like clockwork at 10 o'clock the train jerks and starts its journey to Hogsmade station. While I wait for my friends many of the students greet me and I greet them back as is custom in pureblood families. Its not friendly but neither is it cold. It's a simple acknowledgment of alliance and respect we show to other families. The ones in the lesser families generally sort out their superior but my family is one of those that others come to pay respect to. After all we do own one of the oldest and largest Apothecary chain in the wizarding world.

It took a whole hour when Tracy finally made her way to the compartment. "oh my god, Daphne how have you been. Its so good to finally see you. I mean whey haven't you written for the past week. Nobody knows what happened to you after the quidditch world cup. Speaking of quidditch, did you saw the finals. Ireland was awesome their chasers and the keeper never gave Bulgaria a chance. And it was such a close match with 170-160. Then there was Krum, Oh Krum. I told you he would be awesome especially with the firebolt. For someone so young he has such a long career ahead of him. Speaking of his career, did you know Puddlemere are trying to get Krum and even the Arrows are joining the race. However dad said that Vratsa Vultures (Bulgarian team) has already signed him on a 5 year contract. They are however planning to sell him after the next world cup so that they can make a hefty profit."

"Breath Tracy, breath" Oh I have missed my dear friend Tracy and her rambling. I don't know how she does it but she can talk a lot without stopping to catch her breath. I think its hereditary though cause I have seen moments where her father rambles on about quidditch the same way.

"To answer your question, I spent the last week of summer with my grandfather. The Healer says he has about 6 months to a year left. I ay be able to meet him during the Yule but you know how it is. Now that he can't attend the ministry function there are many that come and pay their respect to him at the manor." I explain to her. While I spent most of the time thinking about a boy named Harry Potter, its not exactly a lie cause most of the time I was with my grandfather and Astoria where she was doing most of the talking.

"Sorry about that Daphne, its just that you never replied about our shopping for school supplies I got worried if you were leaving Hogwarts, especially with the death eater attach in the quidditch world cup. And it wont be hard for you to join Beauxbaton with your perfect French and all." She replied sheepishly. Now where did that come from.

"Is that how little you think of me. I wont let you rot in the snake pit alone. I mean who will I tease or make fun of out there, or who will I complain to when Astoria pranks me or tell all my girly secrets when I get a boyfriend" before I make more analogies I have an emotional Tracy giving me a bone crushing hug. Call me a hypocrite but I like my emotional Tracy. The emotions she shows is so sincere that its hard not to like her.

As Tracy gets back to her usual self Pansy and Millicent enter the compartment and the four of us start disusing our summer break. While exchanging stories I don't tell anyone about my betrothed. I decide to hold off on it till I tell Potter first. I really don't want him to know about the contract through the rumor mill. While I really do care about my dorm-mates I know that they cant hold a secret even if their life dependent on it.

I have decided to tell Potter about the contract once I know if Potter and me can work out. Thank god the contract was not iron clad. It was actually more simple than I expected it to be. The contract in itself was more of a declaration of an alliance between the two houses. There were no bridal price or dowry to be paid just a promise in the hand of marriage. Even the escape clause were not complicated. While the average marriage clause ensured that two parties got what it wanted. A simple marriage contract held the highest esteem in the wizarding world as it showed the degree of trust between two allies. I could have said no to the marriage during the summer itself but decided to honor my grandfather's last wish.

Halfway through the journey as our conversations die down, I excuse Tracy and myself to meet our friends from other houses. While making our way through the train I pay my respect to some of the important students I have not met from earlier and political allies of my family. I stop by the raven and puff's girls compartment to make small talk too but its mostly Tracy who does the talking. I do have an image to maintain.

Now that the formalities were complete it's time to get down to business. I need to go find Astoria to make sure she is alright and if I know her then she's going to be with Potter. Being honest to myself I want to go back to my own compartment. In the inside I'm really nervous. What will he think of me? Am I looking good enough? Should I wear the mask or not? Do I smell bad? Is there anything on my face or clothes? Will he like me or not? Can I make him fall in love with me? What if he already likes Astoria? What if the reason he hasn't talked to me yet is because Astoria has said just bad things about her?

"Don't go there Daphne. What's done is done all you can home for now is that you make a good impression." I reprimand myself. I really shouldn't over think about this first meeting but what can I do. The girly side of me can't help it. I really hope our story doesn't become like those sappy romance novels. Tracey wont let me hear the end of it, especially with how much she can ramble on.

I use the point me to charm to locate Astoria and stand infront of her compartment. While I let my nerves cool down I hear a few gasps from the compartment while some girls shout NO! Now I'm worried about Astoria what's happening in the compartment. So hurriedly I open the door and there I find Astoria on the floor fainted while Potter is holding her. That sight in itself stops my heart beat.

"NO, Astoria" I whisper and without a second thought I'm next to her with my wand out and chanting enervate over and over again but nothing is happening. I look over to Potter to ask for help but that bastard was trying to control his laughter. At that moment I really wanted to hex him. I was half way there too. My wand was already trained on him and the spell was on the tip of my tongue. Then it happened. I don't know who started it, but one person let out a soft giggle followed by a snort and then the whole compartment was laughing. These first years were laughing at me. How dare they?

"Oh Daphy looks like you got pranked" said a voice that I recognize so well that I really wanted to strangle that bitch for this. I made a fool out of myself. I made a fool out of myself in front of Potter, _MY BETROTHED_. "You know Daphne we were just acting. Harry here was telling us the tale of Neville Longbottom and the Chamber of secrets. I was only playing the girl who was dragged into the chamber. You don't have to be that dramatic."

I was so embarrassed. How dare she make fun of me. How dare she make fun of me in front of Potter. I return to my ice-queen demeanor. I give a cold look to everyone in the compartment which shuts up everyone. In the compartment barring Astoria. "Well, now that you have had fun at my expense, I'll be taking my leave." I don't even let Astoria try to stop me. I just got out of the compartment. I lock myself in one of the empty compartments and zone out to the passing scenery trying to hold back my tears. The rain was not helping my case.

"Cookie." Now that scared me out of my wits. I was sure I was alone in the compartment and had locked the door. I didn't even hear the door open. I look over to the person sitting next to me and it's the last person I expect to be here. His green eyes and the smug loop side grin really made me want to slap him really hard for the joke he played on me. For a few minutes I just kept on staring at him thinking it was an illusion.

"If you are wondering how I got in here then the answer is through that door. You did some nice work on those locking charms. I didn't expect some of the charms that you used. Well anyways I came here to see how you were doing." He starts shoving his cookie jar in front of me and I am forced to take one.

"You know these are Astoria's favourite. White chocolate and resins" I tell him. He just smiles at me with a knowing look. "yah I know and you like the traditional chocolate chips. I'm sorry I don't have those."

"How do you know what I like?"

"Your mother. I do have to make a jar a week for her during the summer you know."

"Figures and thank you. For the cookies you know"

"You are welcome."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"How can you bake so well? Are you like a chef prodigy or something?"

For a moment I thought he was not going to answer. The look in his eyes showed me that the answer was not something he wanted to reminisce about. "No its just I have had a lot of practice" he replied getting back to his usual self.

"Considering that I have been eating these cookies since Christmas 91, I guess you are right."

"Oh I have been making these cookies since I was 6 actually" He said it in such a casual way it seemed as if everyone started baking at 6.

"Your family must have been so proud if you could make such delicious cookies at 6."

"Thank-you for the flattery Ms. Greengrass. You know if you like them so much I could make them for you at school." And he was right. I was already on my way to finish my 3rd cookie. I blushed at that comment.

"I would really love that. Thank you."

"Now that you seem to have sobered up I think we should take our leave. Its time to change into our uniform and I don't want Snape taking points off me before the term starts. And you can take that cookie jar if you want."

With that we part our ways and head to our respective compartments.


	4. A Very Odd Conversation

"Hmm. Daphne where did you get these? Did your mother bake these?" Tracy said having her second cookie

"Yah it's so good and they taste quite fresh too. Do you have more of these?" Millicent said with a mouthful of cookies.

"No, Tracy these were not made by my mother and as for more I will need to go ask Astoria for more." I replied to the two of them.

"Why do you need to go ask Astoria?" Pansy asked taking her 3rd cookie

"Well that's because they were specially made for her by her best friend. I just got these because Astoria was feeling generous." Yah more like Harry said something to Astoria to convince her to part ways with her cookies. I know how possessive from her cookies. If these were Chocolate-chips, I'm damn sure that they would not be getting a single cookie.

"Really" Tracy exclaimed with a great enthusiasm. "Looks like I need to go say hi to your little sister Daphne."

"Really Tracy!" I whine. "She'll be coming here shortly anyways. Her trunks in this compartment you know."

"OH. So how come she hasn't come here yet?" Pansy asked.

"Well that's because I have better company to keep, right Harry?" came the ever enthusiastic voice of my little sister who was holding on Potter's hand really tightly. Seeing her so close to potter like that I couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. After all he is my betrothed, it should be me next to him not her. He should be bringing cookies to me not her and spend time with me not her. Wait a second where did that come from. No, I do not like Potter that way. Why should I be annoyed with Astoria's relationship with Harry.

Harry however doesn't reply to Astoria and instead address the four of us. "I'm sorry for intruding ladies, but it seems like Astoria's school robes are in this compartment. So if you please, Astoria I'll leave you to it then."

"Thank you Harry" the way Astoria addressed harry was really starting to get on my nerve.

As Potter was leaving the compartment. So that Astoria could change I decided to give him some company while he waited.

"Thank you for the cookies, everyone really like it" I started as Potter closed the Door.

"You are welcome Ms. Greengrass." He said a bit amused with my actions. "I could see the empty cookie jar as proof of how much you appreciated them. If you want I have more with me."

"If its not a bother to you then that would be lovely, thank you."

What he did next I was defiantly caught me by surprise. He took out a small pouch from one of his pockets and handed me a new jar of cookies. I guess my the surprised expression in my face he answered my unasked question. "Undetectable Extension charm. That combined with the feather weight charm and summoning charm it is really helps me carry all the things I want wherever I go."

"What else do you have there?" I asked my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Oh you know, Books, notebook, stationary, sweets, some chocolates, a water bottle, pumpkin juice, A few galleons for emergency, a broom and other daily essential." He answered casually.

I look at him gob smacked. "Why do you carry a broom?"

"Well 2 reasons actually. First is that it's an easy getaway from unpleasant situations. Second is you never know when you can find a broom race."

"Why would you want to join a broom race? Are you even of legal age to compete in broom races?"

"well I race because of the thrill and the prize money of course. I made a thousand galleons in the past summer alone." He answered off handedly, mischief dancing in his eyes. "To answer your second question who ever said anything about it being legal."

"Oh that's a good one, for a second there I actually believed you. I see being around my sister has helped you develop a good sense of humor."

At this accusation he looked at me as if I stole his favourite candy. "Believe what you want but if you want proof just ask some of your seniors I know Higgs can vouch for me. And if you still don't believe me then come to the cave near the shrieking shake on the second Hogsmade weekend of the month, you can have a front row seat of the race. I know your friend Tracey will definitely enjoy the opportunity."

"you mean to tell me that Hogwarts students host illegal broom races every second Hogsmade weekend of the month?"

"Yup" he answered with is casual town as if we were talking about the weather

"How come there are no such news in the Hogwarts rumor mill?"

"Actually most of the seniors know about it. Its one of the betting highlights in the school. Currently Lucian Bole is the Book keeper. Though the racers are mostly students who have finished their owls but on valentines day weekend they let new comers to have a go at it." Now this was news. I'm surprised that Tracy doesn't know about this considering how big a quidditch fanatic she is.

"What ever you say Potter."

"Harry" he replied

"I said you can call me Harry, every one in your family does except your dad. For some reason he started to call me hell-spawn after the quidditch tournament." It actually amuses me now that I know about my father's antics.

"Well Harry, that's because he figured out you are the son of James Potter."

"So?" he asked not understanding my reasoning.

"The short version of the story is that our fathers hated each other till their last year of school and they only tolerated each other after that because our mothers were friends."

"And the longer version of the story is?"

"You'll have to ask my dad for that" to tell him the actual reason would mean I have to tell him about our marriage contract. Which I don't want to do it now.

"What if I ask your mother?"

"Well if my mother doesn't know that dad calls you a hell-spawn then my father will be sleeping in the couch but she still won't tell you. It's a long story that has a history of 25 years. So unless you want to join us for Christmas dinner I don't think you will be getting the answer."

"Isn't it to early to ask me to meet your family I mean we had our first proper conversation" he joked.

As I realized what I said to him, my whole body went stiff. Shit I just asked my betrothed to join us for Christmas Dinner. What do I do now. Should I go along with it or should I really invite him for dinner. Grandfather did say that he wanted to see us together before he passes away. Maybe I can make grandfather or mum announce the contract to him rather than me telling him. Yah actually that's not a bad idea. I can make mom give the news while I act shocked and Astoria can't do anything about either. Oh how I love my Slytherin brain.

"Hey Daphne" Harry snapped me out of my train of thought. "Are you all right you seemed to have zoned out there. You do realize it was a joke right?"

"Actually Harry I am considering that idea. My grandfather wants to meet you once and I know my mom would be very delighted. Then there is Astoria, I hope I don't have to say more about her reaction."

"Sure its always a delight to meet Lord Greengrass. And that reminds me Astoria said that your grandfather was under the weather. Is he all right?"

I shake my head "Well he prefers to spend most of his time on his bed and he gets tired really fast. The healers have said that he only has a year left for his next great adventure."

"oh" he said with a genuine sad expression. "I have a high amount of respect for Lord Greengrass. He taught me a lot about potions and how to be a Lord while I was working with your Mother. Thank you Daphne for this Opportunity. I would like to meet him before he heads for the next great adventure. So when can I come to Greengrass manor?"

"I'll tell my mother about it. She can give you the details later."

"Thank you Daphne."

"What are you guys talking about?" Astoria interrupted us

"Oh nothing much. I was just inviting Harry over for Christmas dinner at the manor." I Replied. This brought in a lot of mixed reaction. Astoria squealed with joy, Millicent was just looking at the cookie jar in my hand, Pansy was giving me a 'I know what you are doing' looking while Tracey was giving me a raised eyebrow.

"When did it become Harry from Potter?" Tracy asked.

"Just now" was all the liberty that I gave her. I know she wants to ask more questions but I signal her later.

As Astoria and Harry were leaving, Pansy trying to play matchmaker stopped the two of them and made them join us till the end of the trip.

I really wonder how my parents are going to react when they find out I asked Harry to join us for Christmas.

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A/N thank you for all the support you guys are showing for this story. It's a great motivator to continue writing.


	5. A Different Perspective (Anastasia)

A/n The first of the different perspective pics in the story. Please tell me do you like how i have written this particular chapter so that I know what to expect while writing the next one. A point I missed in Chapter 3 regarding neville's adventure to the chamber (thank you wolf970 for making me notice) the scene that Harry was acting out was actually how Neville had bragged about the story in the common-room.

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The second of September is not a very good day for Anastasia Greengrass. Today it was breakfast and she knew it was going to be a quite one. After all the only one's having breakfast were her and Daniel. Both her daughters were finally going to Hogwarts. She was really proud of how both of them had grown up but she still wanted to coddle and protect them as the children as they were. But alas change is inevitable.

She was broken out of her train of thought when two owls came in the to deliver her first mail of the day. She knew these owls well one Jet Black the other Snowy white. She was a bit surprised that the owls came this early. The two of them must have written these letters last night and sent it.

"Hello Zeus, Hedwig how are you doing this early this morning. I wasn't expecting the two today. Must be something really important" the two owls hooted together confirming her suspicions. Why don't you two rest before going back. The elves have already restocked the owlrey with treats and water." With she took the letters from the two owls and started on the Daphne's letter

 _Dear Mother, Father and Grandfather,_

 _The brat and I have reached Hogwarts safely. The journey in itself wasn't that exiting. You know the usual customary greeting and catching up with my friends regarding their summer. Well most of them are just stories about the quidditch world cup and their speculation of the dark mark. The only exiting part of the journey was my interaction with one Harry James Potter but I will get to that later. There is a lot to tell you about him after all._

 _Now getting to the important part, Astoria has managed to get herself sorted into Ravenclaw just as everyone expected. She doesn't seem to be very happy about it though. I could venture a guess that she wanted to go to Gryffindor to be with her prince charming. Who is supposed to be MY BETROTHED. Why can't she be friends with people her own age. Does she have to be that close to Harry?_

"Seems like someone is getting jealous" Anastasia mussed

 _Moving on, this year Hogwarts will be host to the Tri-wizard tournament. The Other schools, Beauxbaton and Drumstrang will be joining us on the 30_ _th_ _of October. A day before all hallows eve and will be staying with us till the end of June. I think it will be a great opportunity to get to know the other schools. Maybe if like Beauxbaton well enough I might transfer there seeing how dad is pensive about the British political climate._

 _The next big news in Hogwarts is the new defense against the dark arts teacher for the year, Alastor Moody. Yah the Alastor Moody. I think Dumbledore just hired him for extra security for the tournament. Anyways most of the students have been talking about Moody being here is also to make sure Sirius Black doesn't try to come back to Hogwarts. At least the seniors are glad that Dumbledore hired a competent teacher this time._

 _Now getting to the part that you are more excited about. Yes I finally did to meet Harry Potter and I think he was hit in the head or something when he was a kid. I mean he talks about incredible feats like it was a walk in the park. Did you know he could bake sine he was 6 years old, Did you know he carries a pouch that has I don't know what and he made it himself. Did you know that he participates in illegal broom races just for the thrill of it. And that he carries a broom with him at all times so he can participate in a race when ever he finds one. There is nothing the guy doesn't know we started talking about quidditch and he gave Tracey a run for her money about quidditch facts then he starts talking about restaurants and cuisines with Millicent and he also talked about beauty products with pansy. The guy talked about pranking with Astoria, poisons and antidotes wit Blaise and politics with Nott. Draco however seem to be avoiding him like a plague though. When he asked Draco later why he avoided Harry, he just Shuddered._

 _Well I will admit that I did have a good time in his company. He is funny when he needs to be and can be serious the other moment. I do intend to get to know him more and make a decision of the contract by Christmas break. So please stop giving me the oh so subtle hints that you approve of the guy. Let me do this at my own pace without much pressure._

 _For now I bid you farewell. Please take care of yourselves and grandfather Please make sure you rest properly._

 _Lots of love_

 _Daphne._

 _PS. I invited Harry over for Christmas. That's when you are going to tell both Harry and Astoria about the contract. While I play the innocent victim. Don't forget you people own me this much, period._

By the time Anastasia finished with her letter she was doing summersaults in her mind. Her daughter had finally given into her request and seems to be making an effort of getting to know the boy before making a decision. All she could do now was hope that everything works out.

While Daniel started on Daphne's letter, she started on Harry's letter.

 _Dear Ana,_

 _I hope you are not overly depressed that both of your daughters have left for Hogwarts. Please remember that they are not going away forever, its only till the Yule festival. I know you will miss them but I'll try to make sure Astoria sends her letters weekly. I am not making any promises however. And don't worry yourself too much, I promised you in first year that I will take care of both of them and you know I keep my promise._

 _Anyways I finally was able to get the audience of your elder daughter and We had quite an interesting chat. I enjoyed her company immensely and relished on the praise she and her friends gave for my baking skills. All in all I did get to know a little more about your elder daughter._

 _In her company she did also invite me over for Christmas Dinner for which I am eternally grateful. She told me that Lord Cyprus is nearing his end and would really like to meet him at least once before he leaves us for his Athena. I know from our conversations that he misses her dearly._

 _As you are lady of the house I would ask your permission to when you would be able to accommodate me and my family to meet Cyprus. I know that Andy would like to meet him and pay her respects._

 _Yours truly_

 _Harry Potter._

 _PS. I still have not made any progress on the wolfsbane potion yet. Damocles research notes tend to be really vague so I decided to try other potions by him so I know exactly what his brewing style is._

"Dear what does Daphne mean by Harry is coming over for Christmas?" asked Daniel

"Exactly that dear. Daphne invited Harry to come over for Christmas so that he can pay his respects to Cyprus. Also he said that Andromeda might join him while he visits Cyprus."

"hmm. Okay I understand that much but what about his part about telling Astoria and Harry?"

"Oh its really simple dear, its just that you have to announce the engagement between Harry and Daphne when they come for dinner while Daphne plays the part of the unfortunate victim."

"And why do I have to tell them?"

"well first because you are the Lord of the house. All announcements are to be made by the Lord of the house after all. The second reason is that this contract was initially meant for the you and not Daphne. Consider it as punishment for all the bad thoughts you have had about Harry since he became Astoria's friends."

Daniel Greengrass was definitely not looking forward to the coming Christmas.


	6. Potions

On Tuesday the first class that we had after breakfast was double potions with the Gryffindors . I had already taken my seat and waiting for Tracy to join me. was saving a seat for Tracy as always. I don't understand how a petite body like hers can store how much she eats. With Crab, Goyle, Millicent and Tracy sitting together in a table the food disappears in an astounding rate.

Anyways, Harry just strolls into the class and sits down beside me as if it was where he belonged. The odd thing is that no one is questioning his behavior. The other Slytherins just accept the fact that he is my friend no questions asked, while the Gryffindors acted as if Harry was a Snake than a Lion. Generally when a Lion and a snake hold a civil conversation you can expect the hot headed Weasley shouting about 'fraternizing with the enemy' or Draco saying some rubbish about tainting the noble lines.

As I had dawned my ice queen persona, I just questioned him with a raised eyebrow at his direction.

He responded with his ever so casually. "Good morning to you to Daphne." I just give him an acknowledging nod. Its not that I don't like this situation. No I like this situation very much but I really don't understand why he is sitting next to me.

"I hope you don't mind if I sit with you?" he asked "I can move if you want."

"Its okay Harry I don't mind it much, its just that your actions took me by surprise." I tell him sincerely, its not everyday that the person you want to get to know better just sits next to you. I know I am not complaining about this situation. "So why is a Lion 'fraternizing with the enemy' if I may be so bold?"

"Well I am 'fraternizing with the enemy' because the lions don't think I have enough lion-ness in me. For which I couldn't agree more. Charging head first into battle without a second thought is just not my style."

"So please tell oh wise one, why live in the Lions den if you don't have enough lion-ness or lion material in you?"

"Oh that's because Lion's sleep 15-20 hours a day and don't realize much of what's going on till they are in danger. I can do what ever I want and not many people will question or even take notice. If I was in Slytherin I would be labeled a dark wizard, the puffs don't have anything called privacy and the ravens just ask a lot of questions and treat everything like a puzzle"

That's not a bad analogy of all the houses actually. I was going to retort to that but an annoyed Tracy beat me to it. "That's my seat Potter so move."

"Oh I am sorry about taking your seat but I thought you were going to sit with Nott over there. He seemed to have saved a seat for you, well that's what he said to me when I went to sit beside him." As soon as Harry said that Tracy just lit up like a fireworks while Nott visibly whined. However he allowed Tracy to sit beside him without any sort of visible protest.

"How did you do that?" I asked a little amused. It wasn't a big secret that Tracey liked Nott and finally she was getting uninterrupted time with him.

"Nott owed me a favour so I just cashed in."

"I didn't know sitting next to me was worth that much Harry." Being a Slytherin, owing a favour to someone is a big deal. There have been people who have cashed in Hogwarts favors late in their professional careers. One person who was famous for using favors was Horace Slughorn. For Harry to have cashed in a favour for sitting next to me showed that either he was a very big idiot or that he valued sitting with my company very much.

Before he could reply however Snape barged into our class and started his lesson. The lesson itself was mostly a review of our Holiday homework. It was a theoretical class where he was asking us about the properties of the potion and its ingredients. The whole process only took the first half of the class.

"This year we are going to work in pairs so I want all of you to pair up barring Potter and Greengrass" after everyone had chosen their partners Snape continued. "Your assignment is to write a 2 feet essay on the Alihotay Draught. It will be due on Monday. The class is dismissed for today but I want Potter and Greengrass stay back."

When the class had cleared out Snape continued

"Well Potter, it seems you made a good choice with your partner."

"I told you I made the right choice weeks ago you just wont listen."

"Yah well if you didn't keep it so hush-hush then I wouldn't have been breathing over your neck"

"what ever control freak." Harry replied under his breath.

"Now before Ms. Greengrass gets any more confused let's get down to business shall we." Snape shows us to his office and asks us to take a seat.

"Well Ms. Greengrass I am happy to say that you have been chosen by Potter here to work in the advance potion class till you give your O.W.L.S if not till your N.E.W.T.S." Huh, I definitely wasn't expecting that. "This advance class however wont mean that you will be studying something different than what you are studying in the class, you will just be studying it in greater detail with a different approach. While you would be brewing the same potions and would be assigned the same homework, your grading criteria and study material will be more in-depth. What you will be doing is that you will be following a particular set of instruction that a potion master used while brewing the potion. This helps you to understand how and why a particular potion master prepares a potion a particular way and how he uses a particular ingredient in a particular way. For your assignments you will criticize the method of that particular potion master while brewing the specific potion."

This system of teaching is very different from a teaching regular classes. It would be like we would be studying about a potion master and his style of potion brewing than the potion itself. This is more about the whys and how's of potion brewing than learning to follow instruction. I just stare at Snape while he talks about the course contents. This is a really big opportunity for me, if I don't screw this up I could study up to 4 potion masters by the time I give my N.E.W.T.S.

"Now please remember that I want you to be extra careful while brewing the potion and record your steps and reaction of the potion thoroughly. I do know that Potter has been doing this for the past 2 years but now with the 2 of you, it would be easier to spot the error of your ways and I won't need to keep a constant eye on you Potter."

I look at Harry incredulously. He has been doing this for 2 years. This actually explains why Snape constantly keeps an eye on Harry or why he puts him under intense scrutiny while brewing some of the potions. Its more to do with Harry's safety than to do with belittling him. I am sure Snape can identify what is going wrong with a potion when we follow regular instruction so he doesn't need to keep a constant eye on every student but with Harry he doesn't have that luxury. With Harry following a different set of instruction than the rest of the class Snape knows that if he misses a mistake from harry, it is quite hazardous for the whole class.

"Now Ms. Greengrass generally we would require the parents to send a letter of consent but thankfully for you Potter has already talked to your parents and gotten it for you. You can thank him later for that. This year Potter has already decided which potion master it is going to be and it will be Damocles. He's the person who made the wolfsbane potion. For your first assignment I want you to read up on Damocles and how he prepared the Alihotay Draught. You will be preparing that potion using his instruction for the next class. Any questions?"

"No sir" the both of us reply and he motions us to leave his office.

As soon as we are free from the class I started my interrogation.

"Why me?" that's the first question I ask

"Because you are the 4th best potion student in our year after Malfoy, Granger and me. I really don't like the two of them, while Malfoy is a Brat Granger just steamrolls everyone to follow her instruction. Then there is the fact that your mother asked me to. Even if we were not going to be partners you would have still been made to enter the advance course."

So mother knew about this. Why didn't she tell me about his earlier. "Well Harry looks like we are stuck together as potion buddies till out N.E.W.T.S. I do hope that you have the brains that mother tells me about. But if you could have pulled it off for the past 2 years, I'm sure you know your stuff."

"I have actually been doing this for a 3 years now. I started it during my first year, its actually my modification of the potions apprentice program, where instead of being taught by one potion master you study different potion master every year. Snape caught on to what I was doing during the end of first year where I hade a big explosion landing me in the hospital for a few days." He said it in his usual casual tone. Oh how I wanted to hex him In that moment. The way he talks about these incredible stuff like it was nothing special just irritates me to no end. I really wish he sometimes says something that make him seem like an average teen wizard not some hidden prodigy.

"You know Daphne it doesn't need to be just potions. As all our classes are the same we can work together. We can sit together in the classes we share and the others we can do the assignments together. We can crosscheck each others work too if you like."

"And what's to say that you won't be copying my work"

He just gives me his loop-sided grin. "I promise you Daphne working with me is never boring. Just ask your mother."

By the end of the second week I had no doubt that working with Harry Potter was never boring. While Granger was our residential know it all, I could tell that Harry was more knowledgeable than Granger in everything. While he may not have been a Master, he was definitely a jack of all trades with at least N.E.W.T. level knowledge of all of out classes if not more. Plus Harry understood the wizarding world and how it worked.

The way he wrote his assignments were a masterpiece of his own. That is if you know how to read them. While it looks like just your average assignment, once you knew what you were looking for it showed how brilliant he was. The way he presented his opinion was nothing short of artistic beauty. He would present examples , explanations or both where need be. they would thoroughly explain the what, why and how of method and subject matter with many quotes from the subject masters to support his statement. While Grangers work showed how much she could parrot from the different books that she had read, Harry's showed how much he actually understood the concept.

Then there is this added bonus of him being a fabulous teacher as he had a very strong grasp on the concepts. He could complicate explanations as much as he wanted or make it as simplistic as possible. He could just read over your work or see what you are doing and pinpoint exactly what and where you were doing wrong. And he was easily approachable. Many times this past couple of weeks I was amazed by the way he taught his juniors. There were times where even the seniors would come to Harry for help regarding their problems. He never said no to anyone. He may tell them to come to him later if he was busy but he made sure to make it a point to give them their needed time.

All in all by the end of the two weeks I knew I had found the best study buddy that I could have hoped for who always carried a jar of my favourite cookies with him.


	7. The Heir of The House of Black

A/N: Thank you for guys for supporting the story. I love all the reviews that I have got. I would be updating this story at least once if not twice everyday till the end of this month. I do have a question should I increase my pace of the story?

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By the 16th of September things seem to have settled down in Hogwarts. The new students have gotten used to their surroundings and the older students are back to their usual routine. There was no dramatic stories to tell during those couple of weeks barring speculations about Moody's Past or the upcoming tri-wizard competition.

My parents did reply back to my letter, well at least mother did anyways. Dad is still grumpy about the fact that he would be the one to make the announcement. My mother is actually really proud of me for taking such a mature view of the situation. She informed about her correspondence with Andromeda Tonks, Harry's magical guardian regarding the Christmas dinner. The latter half of her letter was her teasing me for being jealous of Astoria. Which I just strait out ignored.

My main concern though had been about getting Astoria adjusted to her new life in Hogwarts but it seemed as that Harry took care of everything. Apparently he spends a lot of time helping his juniors. I think that he spends this much time with his juniors so that he could avoid his gryffindor classmates more specifically the Longbottom group. Even during classes he sits away from any of the Gryffindors from what I have heard. At least I am glad to say that in all the classes that we share, he has sat beside me. No matter how much that fact annoyed Tracy but then again she is getting her chance to sit with Nott so I know there are no hard feelings

Harry doesn't even sit in the gryffindor table for meals baring the welcome feast. During breakfast he always sits with me in the Slytherin table where we would discuss our study plan and schedule for the day. During Lunch he would sits with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot in the Hupplepuff table. I would join him occasionally when we had the same class after lunch. While for dinner he would always sit with Astoria without discussing how their day went.

With the amount of time we have spent together we have gotten quite comfortable with each other. The two of us share a similar sense of humor and we have a lot in common to talk about. Even while we work together, he pushes me to do my best while I help giving him a second opinion of his work. Its been slow but the two of us have been are working on a building a solid friendship if not more. With each passing day I get hopeful that might be the one I could give my heart to.

"Hey Daphne, don't zone out on us like that." Tracy said while poking my ribs. I just send her an icy glare. "wow, calm down. You can day dream about Potter later"

"I wasn't dreaming about Potter"

"Whatever you say. Anyways have you read today's news?"

"No not yet. Why?"

"Oh then you might want to read this." She hands me her edition of the Prophet.

The headline reads:

 _MASS MURDERER WRONGLY ACCUSED_

 _Yesterday in the monthly wizengamot session Amelia Bones, the head of the DMLE, raised a motion for the trial of mass murderer Sirius Black. It seems that the Azkaban escapee was not the person who had betrayed the Potters on all hallows eve of 1981 when they sacrificed themselves to save their godson Neville Longbottom the-boy-who-lived._

 _Everyone in the magical world knows the story of the boy-who-lived. How he was under the Potter's care while his parents were away. After all Lily Potter was the godmother of Neville Longbottom and their house was protected by the Feidelius Charm for extra protection. It was a sad day that two great people would sacrifice their life to save a son who wasn't even their blood weakening you-know-who and creating a strong shield to stop the killing curse._

 _By questioning him under veritaserum we have discovered that it was Peter Pettigrew that was the original secret keeper not Sirius Black and that Pettigrew framed Sirius Black for his own murder. It was also confirmed by Sirius Black that Peter Pettigrew is indeed alive who's whereabouts are currently unknown. The order of Merlin recipient has been stripped of all his titles and is sentenced for the Dementor's Kiss when captured._

 _After the trial when we approached Lord Black for comments he said "I am glad to finally be a free man. I hope that no person suffers the fate I did." When we asked about what he is going to do next he replied "I'm going to spend some quality time with my family and would be meeting my godson on the weekend."_

 _Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge refrained to comment from the topic while Lord Longbottom, father of the boy-who-lived was glad such an injustice was corrected._

 _"_ _Sirius was a great friend of mine when we were in school. It personally hurt me when we first learnt that he was almost responsible for the death of my son. I am glad to finally learn the truth that my friend had not betrayed my trust after all. I do hope that the Aurour department find and punish Pettigrew for his crimes."_

 _Continued on page 7._

"Harry did you read today's news?" Nott asked as Harry sat down for breakfast.

"Is it about the Black trial?"

"Yah, How did you know?"

"well seeing as my aunt Andy is his legal council I got to know about the result on yesterday."

"Aunt Andy?"

"Andromeda Tonks nee Black. Eldest of the Black sister. Partner to Tonks and Tonks law firm."

An idiot that Draco was just had to comment about who Harry was living with. "You live with a blood-traitor." The look of hatred that Harry gave Draco for that comment scared all of us.

"Heir Malfoy" Harry responded with a cold and calculated voice. A hint of warning to Draco. "I do hope that your mother has informed you, seeing as she is a black by blood, that Andromeda Tonks and her daughter Nymphadora Tonks have been reinstated to the Black line. I would advise you to watch what you say about the Blacks in front me as I am the heir presumptive till such time that Lord Black doesn't produce an heir of his own. If not then I can use my rights as heir presumptive to annul you mothers marriage and disown you from the Black line."

Now that was news. Nobody knew that Harry was the heir presumptive of the Black. By the time Harry is of age he would be holding 2 of the most powerful seats in the wizengamot. With the Black and Potter seats he gets a variety of family alliances that are both light and dark. The notable families in his alliance would be the Longbottom, the Bones, the Malfoy and the Lestranges. With us getting married he would most probably take over my father's seat too seeing as he doesn't have a male heir. Harry could probably become one of the richest and most influential wizard in Britain if not the world. I am surprised my parents haven't made the news official, I am sure grandfather did a thorough background check so he would have known this.

Draco Malfoy however chose to ignore how much authority Harry could command in the wizarding world. He was still in the fantasy land where he was the prince of Slytherin. "How dare you claim my title. I am the heir of the Noble and Ancient house of Black. A half blood like you can't lead the House of Black. You don't even have Black blood to claim the title." Yup Draco Malfoy had defiantly dug his grave by ignoring Harry's warning.

"Malfoy" that was all Harry said and everyone in the great hall fell quite to listen. "As you are but an insolent child I will answer the questions that you have raised about my heritage but your behavior will not go unpunished." Malfoy visibly shrunk in size, scared of the consequences of his actions.

"For your information, heir Malfoy, I do have the Blood of the most Noble and ancient house of Black through one Dorea Black who married Charles Potter and had a son James Charles Potter on 27 March of 1960. The same James Potter who is _my father_. So Malfoy it will do well to remember that my grandmother is your mothers aunt and if what Aunt Andromeda say's is correct, my grandmother was your mother's favourite aunt."

"Leaving that aside. Seeing that I am the godson of Sirius Black, the current Lord of the Most Noble and Ancient house of Black I do hold a highest rank as Heir to the Black Family till such time he doesn't have an heir himself." This caused a few gasps from the students in the great hall. Draco had turned as pale as a ghost as he began to understand who exactly he had insulted

"Seeing that I have answered why I am the heir presumptive of the House of Black, I hear by sentence your punishment with the powers vested in me being the heir to your line. For your wrongful accusation on me I hereby state that all alliances between the house of Black and Malfoy are on a standstill. There will be no interaction between the house Malfoy and Black, barring one Narcissia Malfoy nee Black, till such time Heir Draco Malfoy apologizes with to Heir Harry Potter-Black for his deeds. So be mote."

It was visible how shaken Malfoy was due to the whole ordeal. He didn't even dare to comment with his trade mark 'wait till my father hears of this' comment. If Draco wasn't a single child he would have been disowned for his actions.

"Harry my boy. Do you need to take such drastic methods." Professor Dumbledor started in his grandfather tone showing his displeasure of Harry's action.

"Professor Dumbledor, this is a family matter. Please do not get yourself involved. You do not have any say in this as you are not a Black." Harry didn't even give Dumbledor a chance to respond. He just left the great hall to find his peace.


	8. A Picnic By The Lake

Draco hadn't even spoken much, neither were his comments harsh yet it seemed like Malfoy pressed all the wrong buttons at the wrong time. Nobody could make sense of what pissed Harry. He seemed to be his usual self till Malfoy opened his mouth. After he got pissed was a different all together. This Harry was cold and calculated. In some ways he reminded me of my grandfather while he talked to people he didn't like. The aura that he radiated just scream power and the hate blazing in his green his made you want to run away. I don't think many could stand that hateful gaze.

Having seen my grandfather work for so many years, I knew exactly what Harry was doing. It was a classic pure-blood strategy, he portrayed his displeasure and anger with such class it would make many pure-blood lords hang their head in shame. I am sure that everyone in the great hall forgot that Harry was a 14 year old teenager but instead a true noble-man.

For me I was glad to discover this ruthless political side of him. During this past two weeks I have seen how easily he could cave into others wishes. It didn't take me or Astoria much to do his bidding. I would ask him something and he would do it, no questions asked. Now considering the political power he would have held with the Potter and Greengrass seat he had a lot of influence in the wizengamot. I thought he would be too soft to hold such power. I mean my father and Grand-father have a third of Harry potential influence yet they are considered as some of the coldest and calculated members of the wizengamot. That demonstration alone was enough to push any of my worries aside.

It took a while for everyone to digest what happened in the great-hall. We don't know who started it but in a few minutes all the murmurs stated to engulf the silence in the great hall. The noise level was immense. Everyone seemed to be talking about. That's when I noticed Astoria who was wrapping a few sandwiches and stuffing it in her bag. I know what she wants to do and it's a noble gesture but Harry doesn't need a kid right now. So I decide to stop Astoria before she started her hunt.

"Astoria wait" I called out.

"What do you want Daphne. I'm in a hurry right now."

"What exactly are you going to say to him Astoria?"

She just stares at me not understanding what exactly I was talking about.

"I know you want to console Harry but what are you planning to say to him."

"I don't know, Ill just make up something along the way. Maybe prank him or something."

"He doesn't need a kid right now Astoria. I know you will bring up why he lost his temper. I know how close you are to him and he never say no to you but right now he needs his space."

"But I'm his best friend, I need to be there for him. He's always been there for me"

"Yes we know you are his best friend but he has other friends too. Right now he needs someone who won't pry but will listen to him talk. You can ask him about it in a few days Astoria, but for now let it be."

"But, but,….. oh alright I won't pry but I don't see anyone going to find him. Those stupid Gryffindors aren't even worried about their own. I bet they are just gossiping among themselves about how Harry could be a dark wizard."

"Its okay Astoria because I'm going to find him myself so hand those sandwiches over to me." She seemed reluctant at first. I actually thought she would say she wanted to come along too but she didn't.

After I stuffed the sandwich in my bag Astoria gave me a hug and said. "Thank you for caring about him Daphne." I hugged her back and made my way out of the castle. I know Harry would want some fresh air and would most probably be near the Black lake.

And I wasn't wrong to think that either. I did find Harry near the Black Lake skipping stones and he wasn't doing a good job with it. The stones would skip three to four time and then sink. I wait for a few minutes to see if he notices me, even if he did he didn't say anything.

"You need to pick flatter stones and reduce the angle while you are throwing." I instructed him. He doesn't seem surprised that I am here though. Yup definitely noticed me before. He didn't seem to be surprised one bit.

"I was actually expecting the younger Greengrass to come looking for me yet I knew it would be you who would find me."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence Potter" I reply a little sarcastically.

"I'm glad about that you did, I really don't feel in the mood for Astoria's inquisitive nature and thank you for stopping her from following you."

"How did you know it was me though?"

"Well your Vanilla perfume is hard to miss and you walk with much more grace than Astoria. Only a few people make less noise while walking than you."

"You sound as if you can sense happening around you."

"Yah well blame the cat inside of me and Moody's 'constant vigilance' mantra."

"A cat huh. Aren't you a little young to have an animagus form. You could be sent to Azkaban you know." Is there anything you can't do Harry. Every time I seem to discover something new about you, you seem to make something that is already perfect more perfect. Yet my instincts tells me that this perfect face of yours is but a mask that hides something. I have spent every night since school started thinking are you the real Harry Potter or just a mask for people to see. I know from watching you before that your past is not your happy one yet you hardly show a moment of weakness. Or maybe its just me over reading the situation.

Will you show it to me?"

"Maybe some other time. I don't trust Hogwarts with my privacy"

"Spoilsport, you're acting as if I am going to tell everyone its not like I don't tell you my hidden talents"

"Well now considering you are working on your animagus form too and haven't even told me that you could possibly become a cat like me. I don't know."

"How do you know that. No one is supposed to know that." There is no way Potter could have guessed that. I just had the potion during this summer. This was supposed to be a family secret. I can't believe someone in the family told my secret to Potter.

"I can sense it you know, your animagus form because it's a cat like mine."

"You can't sense other animagus. No text on animagus talk about sensing other animagus."

"Actually you can, if you meet certain criteria. Its just that it's very rare when these criteria meet. And its actually no recognized text talk about sensing other animagus, there are some unrecognized text however that do. I know my mom's journal does and she wasn't wrong cause I could sense your form since the Hogwarts express."

"Are you going to tell me what these criteria are?"

"No not yet. Maybe when you complete your transformation."

"But that could take months if not years."

"I know" he replied finally using that stupid casual tone of his.

I just huffed at him and conjured a blanket to sit down. "Here I though I would be nice to you by bringing some sandwiches as you didn't have breakfast. Seeing as you want to be mean to me, I'll just have to give it away it seems."

He just chuckled and joined me while taking out his any-and-every thing pouch. Oh how much I hate that stupid pouch of his. There is nothing that he doesn't have in that pouch of his. I know its dead useful but seriously there is a limit to what you need to carry around with you. There is nothing that I can think of that he doesn't carry in that pouch of his. He flaunts it around like it's his gift to mankind, Yet he wont make one for me. No I am supposed to make it myself blah blah blah blah bull-shit. I know he does it just to take the mickey out of me.

"Well what about a trade. I will share with you some cold coffee if you share your sandwich."

"Okay but I do hope you have extra plates and cups in that stupid pouch of yours."

"Oh come on Daphne this is a picnic. We don't have classes till the afternoon. We can just share the sandwich and drink from the same bottle."

"Are you trying to make this a date Potter?" I ask a little coldly. I don't mind if he does I actually welcome the idea whole heartedly. If we start dating then it would be easier to tell him about the contract.

"Maybe some other time Daphne, today we are just friends enjoying the late morning near the lake." I am a little disappointed but at least he doesn't say it might not happen. Then again do I want Harry to be my boyfriend. It might be nice. I do want to know if the two of us can work out. He is a really good friend and there aren't many things that you can't like about him. Yet I feel as if its going too fast. Only 2 weeks ago I talked to him the first time and now I am making jokes about dates. I want him to ask me out, after all I am his and he is mine but I want to cherish this relationship that we have now.

Yah may be I am taking it quite fast. Maybe for now I should just be friends, but soon we may try our hand on dating. At least that way I know I gave it a chance if it doesn't work out. He seems to have reverted back to his usual self. His smile's back and his eyes sparkle with mischief. We start talking about our study schedule and our opinions of assignments. Maybe I can convince him to show me his animagus form later too. For now let me enjoy this picnic of ours. Its rare to get some alone time with Harry with how approachable he is.


	9. Growing Up Without Love

It has been a few weeks since the incident in the great hall. Most of the school had moved on or rather are distracted with their own personal life, some students still seem to be treating him like a Dark Lord in the making. The most prominent being Longbottom and his cronies.

We all know how Longbottom claims that it is his duty to eradicate Dark Wizards from our society. With Malfoy not picking fights with him anymore it seemed that he had focused all his attention on Harry. They had gathered quite a large support for their cause and tried to limit Harry's interaction with other students. Well at least among the Gryffindor.

The other houses didn't seem to have lost interest after a few days. Harry being the cheerful self he generally is, was able to cool down many rumors that were spreading around. The Slytherins didn't care about the boy-who-lived and his campaign. The ravens and puffs though cautious were still accommodating of Harry especially with Astoria forcing him to sit with her in the Ravens table for dinner every night.

The Gryffindors however were a different story all together. We all know how blind Gryffindors are and adding it with Longbottom being the self-proclaimed leader of the light after Dumbledore. Harry was treated as an outcast in his own house. Those who did try to be friends with Harry would be scared off with Dark wizard stories and other baseless rumors while the persistent one's would be tagged as Harry's minions in training and had a choice to between Harry or the rest of the Gryffindor. Harry obviously told his friends to choose Gryffindor.

Harry however didn't seemed to care at all. He was back to his usual cheerful self. Though he did start spending a lot of time Astoria now as most of the students seem to be afraid to approach him. Which wasn't a bad thing in itself. Astoria knew Harry and as he was her best friend she made it her goal to keep Harry distracted from all of this animosity. Astoria did a fabulous job too. The two of them could be seen most of the time laughing or sniggering at something they had said or done. Their also helped cool down some animosity.

"Why are you not doing anything about Longbottom or his gang Harry? Doesn't it bother you, being exiled from your own house? Surely you can't allow them to treat you like this." I finally asked. It was odd how Harry could tolerate so much of Longbottom while he exploded at Malfoy for so little.

"You see Daphne, Neville and I are playing a little game. He is playing the hero while I play the villain. It's been a while since he hadn't gotten on the spotlight so let him enjoy it when he has the chance."

I look at him incredulously. He is looking at this as a game. A GAME. "You have been exiled from your house and you think it's a game. You have been ridiculed and belittled in-front of the whole school for 3 weeks now and you think it's a game. You have been hexed at least a thousand times by those morons and you think it's a game. Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now." I screamed at him. How dare he take this as a joke.

"Breathe Daphne. Yes get it out of your system. Take out that frustration."

"Shut up Potter" I snapped at him.

"Why are you so angry about this whole thing Daphne? It's not like it's affecting you?"

"I am angry cause I care about you Potter, you are my friend. For three weeks you have been treated like some criminal. I see the sadness in your eyes Harry and I can guess at how much those idiots have hurt you. All those kids that used to look up to you and think of you as a big brother are scarred to even look at you. How could you let that-that man child treat you like this. The Longbottoms and Potters are supposed to be friends, like brothers in all but blood. Not like a hero and villain as you see it."

"That's not all is it Daphne. Why are you taking this so personally?"

"I am taking this so personally because I know that you could have shut Longbottom up ages ago. I know how in-tune you are to our rules. Longbottom squandered your name and reputation to the ground. He may be the Boy-Who-Lived but you are a freking Heir of two ancient and noble houses. Alliance be dammed you could have challenged him for an honour duel for his wrongful accusation Its not like you were going to loose to him. In 3 seconds you could have wiped the floor with his ass with just an expelliarmus. Its fast and powerful, Longbottom wont even know what hit him. You didn't give Malfoy as much leeway as you are giving Longbottom. So Harry I ask you again Why?"

"It's complicated" he was trying to avoid it but I wasn't going to have any of that.

"So explain it to me Harry. We got time. It's not like we could go the library with Granger hanging around there all the time.

"Alright then. Lets start it from the beginning shall we."

"For 6 months after the Halloween incident of 1981, I was admitted to St. Mungo's as I had a severely depleted my magical core. Nobody knows why it was depleted though. So after 6 months of healers trying to reenergize my core they gave up. They had declared me a squib with the possibility of gaining my magic in the future."

" At that time, I did not have any place to call my home. The only family that I had left was my godmother. My parents were dead and so were my grandparents both from my father and mother's side. Sirius Black, my godfather had been sent to Azkaban. However my godmother was not able to take me to her home, as you see my godmother is non other than Alice Longbottom."

I gasped.

"Yah. She really is. She tried you know, to take me in and raise me as her son but Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. Because I had been declared a squib he had proclaimed that it would be best if I would grow up in the muggle world. After all a squib would have to live with muggles and it would be a crime to tempt children with something that they could never have. Plus he wanted to make sure that Neville have undivided attention from his parents. Dumbledore had convinced Mr. Longbottom that I would be but a hindrance while raising Neville so there was no-one that would listen to Mrs. Longbottom's pleas."

"There for on 31 July while the world celebrated Neville's birthday I was discharged from St. Mungo's and taken to Number 4 Private Drive by Dumbledor. At 4 Private Drive there lived a family known as the Dursley and I was left there because Mrs. Dursley is my mothers sister. The Dursley's did not like me and I did not like them. For them I was a burden that they were forced to take upon and they made sure that I knew about it. They may not have abused me physically but for a child to be called worthless has a different psychological altogether."

"I craved for their affection. They would shower my cousin, their son with love and affection while I was but an insolent attention seeking brat. I tried to do everything that I could to get some affection. I would strive to get the best grades in class only to be accused of cheating. I made sure to help my aunt on all her household work only to be told that it was but a form of payment for their hospitality. The worst par about it was that I didn't have friends. My cousin Dudley was the local school bully and he thought I should be taught a lesson for being an 'attention seeking brat'. What Neville is doing now is pretty much the same Dudley did to me now."

It was really hard to stop my tears but I have to be strong.

"So I did whatever I could do to keep my mind occupied. I buried myself in books. I took up extra classes, anything that could keep me away from school. I learnt dancing, music, art, writing, martial arts, first aid. Now I am really glad that I took those lessons as I have learned skills that I would not have picked up anywhere else. But that's a story for another day."

"Now the reason why I was pissed of at Malfoy was because Andromeda Tonks was the first person to give me home after my parents died. You know how Tonks and Tonks have clients in the muggle world too?"

I nodded.

"So one day my uncle needed a lawyer for his firm and who else do they hire but Tonks and Tonks. It was a really big case for his company and Tonks and Tonks had a stellar reputation as corporate law. Now I know that is because they gather information using magical means to fight muggle cases which give them an unprecedented advantage. Anyways my uncle's firm won the case for which he was overjoyed. He invited them over for dinner to celebrate their victory."

"Now my uncle always liked to present a fake picture about how big a heart he had boasting about how he had picked me up as a good citizen that he is, raised a child who had no future and what ever bullshit to show himself as my hero for giving me a home. He would bad about my parents just to show how I had no future had I stayed with them. I think it was his favourite story to brag about after all who doesn't like a good story about a kind man helping a futureless kid and raising him as his own son."

"The night was going fabulously till the story ended. Everyone was having a great time. It was during dinner where everything started to go south for the Dursleys. You see I am an exact a replica of my father except for the eyes they are my mother. So when Andromeda saw me for the first time she seemed to have recognized me but just to be sure she asked me my name. by the time I had finished Harry Potter I had apparated to the Tonks home."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update today and leaving you on a cliffhanger.I know, we finally get to learn a little bit about Harry's past and you don't get to read the whole thing in one day. its just that I didn't expect this chapter to become so long so I had to cut it down. the next chapter will be about harry discovering his magic and his life with the Tonks. Now what I want to know is do you want the relationship between Harry and Alice longbottom to be have a chapter of its own or should I mix it in with tomorrows chapter. If I do it as a separate chapter it would be like a filler that would explain from Alice's point of view of Harry and his life. Thank you all for the support you have shown for this story. hope you are enjoying the journey and please leave your comments and recommendations for the story.

I know some of you wanted to know about Harry and sirius and I am really sorry it became Harry Andy. It was initially Harry Siri but then I this seemed to be the best opportunity to do Harry Andy. This way in the Halloween chapter I can concentrate more on what happened when Harry died and the Champion selection. I don't know when I will bring Sirius into the picture for now.


	10. A Loving Family

I can't take this anymore. "Oh Harry" my voice a little cracked as I try to stop myself from crying. "If people knew the effect you have on me, I would be required to pass on the mantle of the ice-queen." I try to joke so that I can stop myself from crying but I know I am doing a disastrous job at it.

"oh... I'm not sure. I think if they saw you Astoria, they will know exactly how to irritate you or get you to react in any other way than your"

"Prat"

"Come on. Wipe you tears, we are going to the better half of the story."

"So where was I again"

"You apparated to the Tonks house"

"AH! Yes, the Tonks house."

"The first thing that Aunt Andy did when we reached the Tonks home was hug me and kiss me all the while crying and apologizing to me and my parents and Sirius for not being there for me. She hugged me and hold me as close as possible. It felt as if she was trying to protect me from the big bad world. I think it was the happiest moment of my life. It was the first time that someone had shown some affection to me. An unloved, unwanted child was finally granted his deepest desire. So I did the only thing I could I hugged her back and cried too. We held on to each other like our life dependent on it and we fell asleep in each others arms."

"The next day when I got up cuddled up with Aunt Andy I thought it was a dream. A dream where I had a loving family and a place to call home. I didn't care about nor did I think who the Tonks were or why had they acted in such manner. When I saw them I saw a hope, a hope for all my dreams to come true. For three days strait I hung on to Aunt Andy as if we were stuck together by a sticking charm and she didn't mind it at all. She took a month off from work and she spent all of her waking moment pampering me."

"What was she like?" I asked. The love that shone in Harry's eyes told me how much he cared about Andromeda Tonks. She must be a remarkable woman. Everyone knows how much she was looked down upon for marrying Edward Tonks. Her name had been squandered to the dirt and had been disowned by her own family. Yet with such a negative reputation, she was able to become one of the top law firms in both the wizarding and muggle world. As a woman she already had my respect to make a name for herself after facing such hardship. I am really grateful that such a strong woman took Harry in and raised him as her own.

"The two of us did everything together. I lived through all of my childhood desires that I wanted to do with my mother. I made her read me bed time stories, I made her go shopping for my clothes, I made her teach me how to swim and what not. We did all the mother child activities that I or Andromeda could think of. I didn't care if those were done for boy's or girls I just wanted to spend time with my surrogate mother. Andy still has some photo's of me dressing up and hosting tea parties with a bunch of stuffed animals"

"Oh really" Now there is something that I would pay a fortune to see.

"No Daphne, You are not going to get any copies of that picture"

I give the cutest pout that I could make "Pretty please"

"Its not going to work. Being with Astoria has made me immune to the Greengrass Charm."

"Dammit. Why did you have to be my sister's best friend again"

"Well you'll have to ask your sister about that."

"Spoilsport." Maybe I could convince Andromeda to give me some copies. It could be some effective black mail material.

"So between Andy and me, we were both able to get the two things that we always wanted. I got the mother that I always wanted while she got a son that she never had. It also helped that we thought alike. The two of us were ambitious to prove ourselves and we believed that knowledge was a man's greatest weapon if used correctly."

"On top of that Andromeda finally found some one who was willing to learn the pure-blood ways that has been passed down for generations. Aunt Andy tried to teach her daughter, Nymphadora, the old ways but even she realized how hopeless the case was. Aunt Andy had long ago accepted the fact that Nymphadora was more similar to uncle Teddy than to her. Nymphadora had received the more boisterous nature of her father along with his clumsiness. She was more of breaking the rules then bending it to do her bidding."

"Let me guess, she took you under her wing and taught you about pure-blood etiquettes?"

"Yah, With me who looked up to aunt Andy like she was a goddess coupled with my eagerness to learn I became her perfect student. And with me being muggle raised she had a lot to teach me. For her I was a plain block of marble just waiting to be crafted into an artistic masterpiece. Which is exactly what she did. I can proudly say that whatever I have learnt about social etiquettes and how to act in front of other wizards I have learnt it all from her."

"Had you found your magic then?"

"Nope, but she didn't know I was a squib. She just assumed that I had was a wizard."

"So when did you find you find your magic?"

"When I was 10."

"Are you going to tell me about it." He is such a tease. Can't he just tell me everything in one go. Does he have to break it down in so many bits and pieces. I mean seriously how complicated does he have to make this story of his.

"Maybe after I tell you about my family it does play a part though when I tell you about me and Alice"

"Oh. Okay" I huff getting a little impatient "Who else where in your family?"

"Excluding Aunt Andy there were Edward Tonks, her husband and Nymphadora Tonks her only daughter."

"So what is Edward Tonks like?"

"Edward Tonks is a great man and I can see why Aunt Andy married uncle Eddy. He has a great sense of humor and with his general clumsiness you are always laughing or smiling. I have had great memories when the two of us go out and have a guys night in muggle London. For some reason though the two of us always seem to land up in jail or charged a hefty fine for breaking some law or the other. Now I will not bore you with some our stories of what exactly we did cause all of them are set in muggle London and you wont understand the references."

"Do you have picture of yourselves in prison?"

"Thankfully no."

"Awe! That's to bad. How many times have you been sent to prison anyways?"

"Well it's not exactly the jail. It's just the local police station till some one bails us out that out which is generally Aunt Andy."

"The two of you must have given her quite a lot of headache's"

"Yah we have. Aunt Andy claims that her boggart is actually seeing the two of us drunk as she can't imagine how much havoc we would create."

"He also is a very hard working and has earned a reputation for himself through his hard work and dedication. The two of them form a formidable team with Aunt Andy as the brains while uncle Eddy does all the legwork. Its really hard not to like Edward Tonks but I never saw him as a father figure. He still has his childishness in him and he loves to have fun. I see him as the fun uncle in the family that you always want to hang out with."

"and Nymphadora?"

"The first time that I met Nymphadora Tonks was when she came over for the summer vacation after her fourth year. Before she came home I had monopolized the affection of both the elder Tonks. Initially when I saw that I had competition for affection I became very possessive. The two of us the kids that we were fought over The Tonks affection. The Tonks home had become a war zone that particular summer. Our aim was to wither make the other look bad in front of her parents. I used all my innovative skills to get under her skin while she kept on jinxing or hexing me with Aunt Andromeda's spare wand. We would get into useless arguments over the smallest things and start throwing punches to prove who was the top dog of the house."

"Isnt it a little childish for a fourth year to act like that?"

"Well I don't think that Nymphadora ever matured in the mental department. Though she is an Aurour trainee now she still acts like a pampered kid whenever she comes home. It's quite fun treating her as a kid sister than an older mature sibling."

"Only you can think like that Harry only you. What did Mrs. Tonks do when she found out about the two of you acting like attention seeking brats.?"

"Oh she knew about it from day one but just thought it would just be a few days thing."

"How long did it actually last?"

"2 whole month of our summer vacation."

"And how did it come to an end?"

"When Aunt Andromeda finally had enough she locked us in the same room for two weeks strait and had to learn how to share everything. We had one bathroom one bed and a few spare clothes. She would give us one plate of food per meal and share that too. It took three days for us to not fight physically while the end of the first week to end the hostility. Only in the second week did we start to open up to each other. Thought we still end up arguing over most things."

"Nymphadora and me are like any other siblings now. She is the fun loving trouble seeking kid sister while I am the loving caring and reprimanding big brother. Well at least that's how we act around each other. I still can't believe the fact that she was able to join the Aurour Corp. Now obviously like any pair of sibling we have our fights and our moments but no matter how much I insult her or how much she complains about me being an insolent brat we still love each other though we may not show it very often. Pretty similar to You and Astoria I imagine."

"You love them very much, don't you."

"Yes I do. The Tonks took an 8 year old and gave him a home when all he thought was that he was a burden in this world. They taught me everything I know about a world that has a special meaning of its own in my heart. They fulfilled all of my dreams come true and for that I could do anything for them. So when Draco insulted Andromeda it was a personal jab at the woman who made me who I am today and the closest thing to a mother that I will ever have. That's why I did what I did to Draco. No one messes with the people I love even if they are a part of the extended family."

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A/N And thats the 10th Chapter. I do hope you liked the Tonks family. Now as to Harry and Edward going to jail. They will be told later when Daphne explores the muggle world with Harry. The thing about Alice Longbottom. I have decided to give her, her own chapter but i will also tell Harry's side of their interaction. I hope you enjoyed Todays post.


	11. His Stupid Reasons

"After knowing how important a role Andromeda Tonks had played in you life, I don't think anyone would blame you for what you did." I don't think anyone would deny how remarkable a woman Andromeda Tonks is. Knowing what she has done for Harry I don't think even I would be able to ignore any rude comments or remarks about her. "Does Draco's mother know about your relationship with her sister?"

"Yah, Aunt Cissy does. I wonder who saved Draco from his fathers wrath for his childish behavior. I can guarantee she would not take insulting her sister lightly."

"You call Draco's mom Aunt Cissy. Since when?" Potter stop dropping such huge news with such causality. I think he does this in purpose just to break my Ice queen façade and make me gap like a fish. I seem to be doing that quite often when I am around him.

"Since the first month of being at the Tonks house. Contrary to popular belief, all the three Black sisters are quite close and still love each other. Aunt Andy may have been disowned from the family but Aunt Cissy is still in contact with Aunt Andy. She even comes to our home once a month to get away from all the responsibilities that come from being Lucius Malfoy's trophy wife."

"I have a lot of fun when she comes over to stay the night. We generally go to a these huge parks that the muggles called theme parks or the muggle beaches during the summer and have a blast. During the winter she takes would take me ice skating or some other snow filled activity. Once we even went to Japan to their famous hot springs. Now that I think about it she spoils me a lot. She always wished she could bring Draco along but she knows that he would tell his father so we had to leave him home.

"Oh Merlin. I can't believe the perfect pure-blood wife that we know as Narcissia Malfoy actually knows how to enjoy herself in the muggle world. I think the older pure bloods might have a heart attack if they knew about this."

"Alright that explains Malfoy but why do you tolerate Longbottom so much."

"The reason I tolerate Longbottom so much is because his mother is my Godmother. I know that she abandoned her duties by leaving me at the Dursleys but she proved to me that she wanted to make up for her mistakes. I didn't forgive her for a year till my 11th birthday. For that whole year Mrs. Longbottom made it her goal to get to know me better. She would come over every weekend after breakfast and would stay over till lunch just so she could talk to me."

"At first I didn't even talk to her. I would lock myself in my room whenever she came over and wait till she left. It was only after Aunt Andy told me to give her a chance that I allowed her to get close me. It was her stubbornness of trying to be a part of my life that let me forgive her. Once we started to know each other, we discovered that we had a lot to talk about."

"She like me is very inquisitive in nature. Many times in the past 3 years we have sat together and speculated about magic and many of its theories. She say's that it reminds her of the days she would spend with my mother trying to discover new about magic. She was also the only link that I had to my mother and would tell me lots of stories about my mother when they were in Hogwarts. She was also the person who introduced me to your mother and other knowledgeable personalities in magic."

"Why did she wait so long to meet you?"

"She had her reasons. And its her story to tell."

"so will you tell me your version of the story"

"I will but first I need to tell the reason why my magical core was so depleted when I was a kid."

"The reason that I had a severely low magical core was because of the magical binders that were placed on me by my godfather Sirius Black. When I was a baby I had a lot of bouts of Accidental magic which were not safe by a child's standards. I don't know what they were so don't ask me. Now seeing that my accidental magic could be harmful to me my parents decided to bind my magic. However the binding spells in the potter library were not able to bind my magic completely therefor my parents had to use the black family binders."

"Now the thing about the black family binder is that it is a borderline dark spell. It binds the magic of the child completely with a lot of seals. These seals are then released in intervals so that the body can get adjusted to the feel of magic. This type of binder is also helpful to teach a child better understand and control the flow of magic in your body. Now because this binding magic could literally turn the child into a squib there is a failsafe too. On the child's 10th birthday some of the seals are automatically disabled allowing 50% of the magic from the core is released from the confinement."

"As these binders was borderline dark magic, the only people who knew about these binders were my parents and Sirius Black. As the binders were a branch of the Black family magic, the healers in St. Mungo's were not able to identify the binders when I was a kid as their diagnostic spells couldn't read the unidentifiable magic signature."

"So due to obvious circumstances nobody removed the binders while I was growing up and when the failsafe was activated on my 10th birthday my magic came to bite me like a bitch. It felt like a dam that was stopping molten Hot lava to enter my body had burst open. I was admitted at St. Mungo's for a month strait while my body tried to adjust to the foreign feel of my magic. It was a very slow and painful process. I may have been declared unconscious for a whole month but I would never forget that excruciating burning sensation inside of me while I screamed for mercy in my head. I was ready to make a bargain with death just so that the pain could go away. It was only on the last week did I fall unconscious for the whole week."

"For a while everyone was in a state of panic nobody was able to understand what was happening to me. The healers tried everything they could to make my pain go away. My first week had caused utter chaos at St. Mungo's. It would have gone longer had Aunt Andromeda not connected the dots. Every member of the Black family that carry's the black name is taught all the branches of the Black family magic. Had there been a head of house at that time I think Aunt Andromeda would have begged him or her to be reinstated into the black family just so she could have eased my pain. But she was as helpless as the rest of the St. Mungo's staff."

"With her being disowned, she didn't have any access to the Black family library where she could find the required spells to filter the flow of magic in my body. She sat beside me the whole time till I was discharged. Didn't even leave my room even for one second. That year she didn't even go to drop Nymphadora off to the platform and it was Nymphadora's last year too."

"Alright, so what does this have to do with Alice Longbottom?"

"Okay now to go back a few years into the past, When I was at the Dursley's there was a park that I would close by where we would go and play during the weekends. Now at the park I wasn't allowed to play with anyone so I would always sit on the bench and read a story book or color or something by myself to pass the time."

"Now on one such evening I met this very nice Lady who introduced herself as Alice. No don't interrupt this part, just listen to the whole thing."

"Since that particular weekend the two of us would always meet at the park on every weekend till the Tonks took me away. we would start the conversation by tell each other about our week while I also had to tell her about everything I learnt at school and from the books that I was reading. If I would have finished a book she would give me recommendations about which book to read next too. It was the one thing that I would always look forward to when I was staying at the Dursleys."

"The week after the Tonks had taken me away I went to go find her at the park and she was waiting for me at our usual bench and had tears in her eyes but was smiling at the same time. When I told her about the Tonks and introduced to Aunt Andy she was really glad that I was able to find a loving family to take me in. She wished me luck and prayed for a bright future. Then she told me that she was moving away to a far away land and told me that we couldn't meet anymore."

"And that was the last time I met Ms. Alice for two and a half years. The next time I saw Ms. Alice was when I found her sleeping on the couch of my room in St. Mungo's."

"I knew it"

"Yah, yah I know, Ms. Alice was actually Alice Longbottom. Once I had been declared fit and discharged Mrs. Longbottom explained everything to me about why she did what she did. She was scared of losing me when my magic was released. She says that it was the fear of loosing me, the last link of Lily that she had, that made her to take a more active part in my life."

"So she was their in your childhood but it still doesn't explain why you tolerate Longbottom."

"I tolerate Longbottom because he only makes jabs at me while Malfoy insulted Andromeda. Plus it's not that I haven't done anything a out it. I already told his mother about what Neville is doing."

"And she hasn't done anything about it because?"

"There is a betting pool going on about how long Neville can act like a child."

"What!" I screemed

"Oh we want to see how long it will take for everyone to get bored of Neville's antiques or for him to cross the lone."

"And Neville's own mother is in on it."

"Well she isn't exactly in on it. Its just that she doesn't have a say on it. The people who have made their bets are Sirius, Nymphadora, uncle Eddy, aunt Cissy. I am not allowed to bet cause I am directly involved. The betting pool is quite high too."

"Explain why Mrs. Longbottom hasn't done anything about it."

"Well the whole bet thing is actually because of an argument that aunt Cissy and Ms. Alice had. You know how the rivalry between Longbottom and Malfoy is at school. You see aunt Cissy knows how arrogant Draco is but Ms. Alice would not agree that Neville is as arrogant as Draco. So aunt Cissy is using this opportunity to prove that Neville is as arrogant and big headed as Draco claims to be."

"Are you crazy. What if Neville or anyone of his cronies steps out of line. What if he hurts someone in the process."

"Took care of that too. Peeves and some of the Hogwarts ghost are following Neville and his gang all the time. When it seems like they are about to cross a line the ghost either inform me or cause a scene so that Neville doesn't do something stupid. For now the Gryffindors are keeping it clean and have not crossed the line."

"And what do you get out of this?" There is no way he is doing this for free.

"Well lets just say that I get an extra special Christmas gift from aunt Cissy."

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A/N: Sorry about the earlier post and thanks for the quick response. It showed me how much u guys cared for my story so Thank you.


	12. A Different Perspective (Alice)

"Oh Lily, he's so beautiful and look he's got your eyes." I told Lily as I took Harry for the first time in my arms. He was so cute. He looked just how I imagined James would have looked like when he was a baby.

"yah, he is beautiful." Lily told herself more than to answer my question. "Hey Alice." She seemed a little nervous. Her body posture was similar to when she wants to ask me for a favour. I mean who wouldn't for the huge responsibility that she was going to give me

"Hmm." I reply.

"Will you give me the honor of being Harry's Godmother?"

For a while there I just looked at her trying to comprehend what she just said. "The honour is mine Lily."

That was the moment that made 31st of July 1980 is the happiest day of my life. It was on that day that I was able to be a mother of 2 sons, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. Though many may have forgotten about me being Harry's God-mother. It is the greatest honour that my best friend Lily Potter, nee Evans bestowed upon me. On that day Lily and I vowed that we would do what ever it takes to raise both of our children as the best we can so that they can become the greatest wizards of their generation. Yet when I look at the two of them now I feel as if I have filed on that promise.

I do hope that Lily will forgive me when we meet again in the spirit realm for all of my sins.

The wizarding world may know me as the mother of the Boy-Who-Lived now but he is more of Frank than mine. I do not see him as the son that I hoped for him to become. He is arrogant and big-headed. He thinks that he is the greatest wizard in the world yet he doesn't have any grounds for the claim. Its not uprising to me though, not with Augusta and Frank treating him as the second coming of Merlin. That and his fame has made my son a snob. I just hope that he comes to his senses by the time he finishes Hogwarts. He may be the darling of the Wizarding world now but they will chew him alive when things start going south.

While people may call me a bad mother if they knew this but I am more proud of what Harry has become than I am of Neville. Its sad when I have to admit that Andromeda did a better job at raising Harry than I could have ever done if he would have come home to me after that dreadful night of 1st November 1981. While the world celebrates and thank Neville what he did on that day I visit the grave of my best friend and cry. However the worst part of the day is when I need to plaster a stupid smile on my face for the grand ball Augusta organizes in honour of the Boy-Who-Lived.

The thing that I hate the most however is Neville gaining the title the BOY-WHO-LIVED. While many would kill to gain such fame as the Boy-Who-Lived, I however would do anything to wish that Neville was not the Boy-Who-Lived. That stupid title has brought nothing but sorrow in my life. It took everything away form me. First it was my best friend and sister in all but blood, Lily. She died protecting both Neville and Harry from Voldemort on that night. When the Frank told me that Lily had died, I think a part of me died with her.

Then it took away my family from me. It's not the same anymore. While I do love my family I can see the distance that has been formed between me and the rest of the Longbottoms. Many times I have voiced my displeasure of how Neville was being raised but it all felt to deaf ears, it was necessary for the greater good after all. Since the day Neville was able to have coherent thought, Frank and Dumbledore started to play an active role in raising Neville. They molded Neville in their own picture as the next leader of the light and I was not given any say in it. Its only our mutual love for herbology that has allowed Neville and I to bond as a mother and son otherwise I would be very similar to Narcissia Malfoy as a trophy wife. Nowadays Frank doesn't seem to care about me anymore either. We had so many dreams about our family before Neville was born. We were even trying for another child before that incident but since then Frank has now he says that we don't need another child till Neville is grown up.

Finally it took away Harry from me. When Harry was declared a squib I knew that he wouldn't be able to raise him like how I promised Lily I would but at least I could give him a home filled with love but Albus Dumbledore in all his wisdom just declared that Harry should be sent to that hag of a sister of Lily. I tried for months to convince Augusta, Frank, Minerva and Dumbledore that I could raise Harry too but they just wouldn't listen. All of them just told me that Neville would need my undivided attention and Harry would be just a hindrance. They said that it would be a crime to raise a squib in a magical environment. I knew how futile the effort was to convince them so I promised that I would take care of Harry from the shadows if I have to.

I begged everyone to not send him to the Dursleys but nobody listened. They thought I was just being overly emotional for the loss of my best friend. Dumbledore said it would be a loving family but I knew how loving that hag and her family would be to Harry. A few months after Dumbledore had left Harry at Number 4 private Drive, I gave them a visit. I was appalled by the way they were treating a baby. I was so outraged that I could have killed them that instant if they had said something stupid.

I knew they wouldn't love Harry as their own but I knew that they could give Harry a place to live. So I made a deal with them. I promised them that I would take care of all of Harry's expenses if they gave him a proper place to stay. They were skeptical about it at first but they agreed. They let Harry have a room for himself and gave him proper food but they did not shower him with love as they did to his son. That however I could not buy with all the money in the world.

As Harry grew up I was saddened by how he craved for love and affection. He tried his best to impress his Aunt and Uncle but all they thought was that he was an attention seeking brat. When Vernon lost his temper and hit Harry I lost it. The boy had learnt to cook, sew and read just to get a word of praise but is awarded with a slap. I transfigured Vernon into a pig that evening and threatened Petunia that I would sell him to the local butcher if he ever hit Harry again.

Seeing how desperate Harry was becoming I decided to stop watching him from his shadows and be his first friends in this lonely world. At first our weekly interactions were nothing more than telling each other stories about how we spent the week but gradually as Harry started to grow up I started to direct his choices in his life. I convinced him to pick up reading and recommended most the books that he should read. I told him about the use of cooking, dancing and other sports that he should join in his school. I tried to mold him as Lily would have raised a non-magical son. Someone who could not only survive but also thrive in the muggle world.

Then one day comes to meet me with Andromeda Tonks. By the time Harry explained to me everything that had happened I was glad Harry finally found a home and I decide to step into the shadows once again. I had a very long conversation with Andromeda the next day and I told her everything about Harry's past. When I told her he might be a squib in the future she just said that she would raise her just like how she would have raised her own son. It didn't matter if he could do magic or not. After that day I stopped seeing Harry and would contact Andromeda to ask about how Harry was doing.

It was after Harry left with Andromeda did I also start having mother-son time with Neville. After his 8th birthday Neville started to shoe interest in Plants and Gardening. So when Frank would go to work. Neville and I would spend our day working in the greenhouse. It was fun and for once I didn't feel like a piece of furniture in my own house. I even started accompanying Frank and Neville in their father-son bonding time during the weekend. They would generally go out flying and I would wait for them on the ground till they finished. However even at those time I would wonder how it would be like if harry was there with me and was part of our family. Might be Harry would have helped me.

Everything was looking good at that time. Harry had found a good family for himself and my family was trying to salvage what they could from our relationship when the second worst day of my life happened. On 31 July 1989 I got two of the worst news that I could have wanted for both of my children. The first was that Dumbledore would take Neville as his apprentice and second was Harry being admitted to St. Mungo's.

Now the first news was not so much of a bad news till the time Neville went to Hogwarts. When Neville was home and was training under Dumbledore it was great. He showed a lot of potential and I was very happy that Neville would be trained by such a great wizard. But when Neville went to Hogwarts he let the fame get to his head. As he was Dumbledore's apprentice everyone just claimed that he would be the next leader of the light. Especially how his friends treated him with such hero worship. Just because of their arrogance and cockiness I have had multiple heart-attacks from the 'adventure' those morons have undertaken while they were in Hogwarts. And it's worse when a for me as I am the mother of the leader of that band of idiots.

The second news of Harry became a blessing after the ordeal had passed but before that, the image of Harry screaming for Death will forever be plastered in my mind. I wish that no one would have to suffer as much as Harry did for that month. His screams still haunt my dreams. I thought I would loose him that time. For a whole month Andromeda sat beside Harry and watch him scream for mercy. I still wonder how she could stand seeing such suffering. It was also during that month that I decided to take an active role in Harry's life.

Now that however was easier said than done. It took a whole year for Harry to forgive me. For at least 2 months I would go over to the Tonks household hoping to get to meet Harry but he would just lock himself in his room. It was really hard but slowly and gradually I was able to worm myself into his heart and since then I have seen Harry grow into a remarkable young man. Many a times I have wished that Neville would be more like Harry but alas that for now is a distant dream.

HARRY'S POINT OF VIEW.

(4 DAYS AFTER THE SORCERORS STONE INCIDENT IN THE HOGWARTS INFIRMARY)

Never in my life have I seen her so sad and worried. I wouldn't want my mother to be worried as she is now for Neville.

"He's going to alright Mrs. Longbottom. He just needs his beauty sleep." I tell her. She looks at me with a smile but her eyes show her worry for her son. I wonder if my mother would cry for me like she does if I was in Neville's place.

"Come here Harry" she motions me to sit on her lap and I comply. For a while he just embraces me but I know she wants to embrace Neville more than me. I just hope that I am a good substitute.

"Why can't Neville be more like you?" She asked

"Well that's because he doesn't listen to his mother." I know its cocky but it makes her laugh. I like her laughing, its better than her sad and gloomy look that she has had for a few days.

"I know that Neville will always attract trouble." I snort at her words but she just ignored me and continued. "It is the bane of being famous. I know that I will not be able to protect Neville forever but I know you can Harry. Promise me Harry that you will look after him. You are like a son to me, Harry and as a mother I want you to promise me that you will protect him."

I know what she wants and I give it to her. Partly because of how important she is to me and partly because of guilt but I do not tell her that. Maybe after a few years when I have graduated I might tell her that all this drama was unnecessary. That all of this was done for nothing but a fake Philosophers stone. Maybe I will tell her the role I played but for now I just promise her to take care of her son.

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I do hope this clears some of the question of the last chapter and Yes Harry didn't tell Daphne all of his reasons as to why he tolerates Neville. Now I want to ask you guys about wether you want to see Harry compete in the tournament or not. please leave your comments.

Also do you like the Harry POV. I hope it gave you a tease about the broken Harry that hides behind the his cheerful mask.


	13. A Proposition

It's been a few weeks since Harry and I had our discussion. He did share a lot about his personal life to me but I don't think he is telling me everything. I don't hold it against him though and neither am I going to press for him to tell me everything. Maybe later when I have gained enough of his trust he will.

Longbottom's stupid campaign against Harry also seem to have watered down though Longbottom and his gang still treat Harry the same way. Anyways, the school has better things to talk about then a supposed Dark Lord in rising from Gryffindor. The school is buzzing with excitement with the Tri-wizard tournament. There is only a week left for the other schools to arrive.

I wonder how Hogwarts would be like with so many guests roaming around. It would be fun to learn about the other cultures and I will finally got to meet some students from Beauxbaton. I should talk to some of their teachers to and get to know how the environment is as school. I might even consider joining Beauxbaton after my N.E.W.T.S if they have a better course structure than Hogwarts.

Yah this tournament is definitely going to be a welcome change that Hogwarts is hosting the Tri-wizard tournament. School life was starting to get pretty bland. There's not much excitement left after we get over the fact that we get to do magic, everything becomes routine. Now I know that there are these heroic adventures that Longbottom and his gang had in these past years but for me they are just stories. Where is the proof that they actually did what they did.

"Hey Daphne" Harry called as I was heading towards the dungeons for my potions class.

"I have this thing that I want to do tonight. and I was wondering if you would want to join me?" Harry said with a tone of excitement. This was not going to turn out good for me. I don't like it when Harry gets excited. Its generally got something to do with breaking the rules while endangering your life. The last time he said something like that I ended up sitting behind him in his Firebolt while he raced around the Hogwarts perimeter at top speed. I swear to god when I get my hands on that Firebolt I am going to burn it so thoroughly that he wont even be able to recover it's ashes.

"No Harry, I don't care what you want to do. Get Astoria to do it. I am not taking any part of whatever plan of yours."

"But you haven't even listened to my idea yet."

"Yah well it doesn't matter. I know its dangerous and illegal"

"Come on Daphne, it's going to be fun"

"Our ideas of 'fun' are completely different. While your idea of fun is about broom racing I prefer to sit down and read a book. So thank you very much for considering me as an accomplice of whatever you want to do but I would like to pass the offer." Okay I correct myself. I need excitement in my life that does not involve close calls to death.

"At the very least let me tell you what I want to do before you decide."

"Why can't you just take my sister. The two of you are virtually inseparable and do almost everything together."

"Well I can't ask Astoria for this cause she's too young."

"I know for a fact that age has not stopped Astoria from doing what she wants to do."

"Just hear me out will you. If you do this then I'll be in your debt. So in Slytherin terms. If you go along with my idea I will owe you a 'favour'." Oh that's a very lucrative offer. There aren't many chances where someone willingly gives you a favour in a plate. However going along with Harry's plan could range between expulsion to life threatening. Maybe I should at least give him a chance to present his proposition.

"Okay Harry I am listening but it better be good"

"What are your plans after the double potions today?"

"Nothing really. It's a Friday so maybe the girls have some plans I don't know."

"So you are free after potions till dinner right"

"Yah, where exactly are you going with this Harry. I am really not liking that look in your eyes."

"Well Daphne what do you know about movies?"

"Never heard of it and I can't even think about what it could mean"

"The best way to explain is that it's a series of pensive memory projected at a screen that is used to tell a story for a mass audience."

"Hmm. That's a really interesting concept who invented it? I'm amazed that it's not a well known medium of storytelling. It should be quite entertaining by the sound of it."

"Oh it's quite famous actually just not many pure-bloods know about it. It is a muggle invention after all."

"You mean to tell me that this movie thing is actually a muggle invention."

"Yup. Its actually quite brilliant what muggles have achieved without magic. I think there are a lot of things the wizarding world can learn from the muggle world actually."

"Okay I am a little curious as to this muggle invention but what does it have to do with what you are planning."

"It's got everything to do with my plan. You see there is a new movie that released a few weeks ago and its called the Lion King. I want to see it but I don't have anyone to go with me. Astoria's to young while Sirius already has a date. Nymph's already seen it and if I tell Andromeda, well she's just going to yell at me."

"And you are telling this to me, because." I really want him to spell everything out to me rather than me speculating which rules I would be breaking if I go along with him. If he tells me what exactly his plan is there wont be much room for miscommunication.

"I want you to go to see Lion King with me"

"Let's see if I got this right. You want me to go to muggle London with you tonight to watch this thing called 'lion king' because all your other friends seem to be busy."

"That sounds about right."

"That's not how you are supposed to ask a girl out Harry, even if she is your friend. You need to make her feel special and do things that she likes while you make the compromises."

"But I am not asking you out. I just want you to tag along so that I don't feel lonely. It will be way cooler than your ladies night where Pansy just talks about how she fails to hold Malfoy's attention.

"Don't dig a deeper hole for yourself Harry"

"Will you just answer the question, are you interested?"

"You are asking me to break more than a few rules here Harry. I could get expelled if we get caught and I am not ready to get my wand snapped. Though a favour has a lot of weight it's not enough to sway me make me an offer that you can't refuse."

"Ohhhhh! When did you read 'The Godfather'?"

"I don't know a book called 'The Godfather', what's it about."

"You quote one of the greatest line in Human literature and you haven't even realize it. Oh how stoic this wizarding world is."

"Oh stop your rant will you. We got half an hour till class starts. You better present me a good proposition before the class starts or you can find someone else to go see that movie thing."

"hmm. Too less time to think about a fair deal so I ask you Daphne what will you do to go watch a movie with me."

There isn't much that I can ask from Harry at such short notice. There are many things I could have thought up of if I had the time but I don't have the luxury. Wait, maybe I could ask him about my safety net when the wizarding world start going down the drain. Yah maybe he can show me the ropes of how to live in the muggle world. It can be my safe haven if and when things start going south in magical Britain.

"I know that you know your way around the muggle world so the first thing that I want is you to teach me how to get around the muggle world like a normal muggle. It could be very helpful when I want to disappear in the future."

"Why would you want to disappear in the muggle world?"

"Well if the rumours going around are true about death-eaters rising again I need a safe haven from the threat. My family will not remain neutral forever and I do not wish to join a world of subjugation if you-know-who gets resurrected."

"And I want you to set up a safe house in the muggle world for me and my family. I know how rich you are Harry so I know you can do this just remember that I was brought up a pureblood so I grew up with certain luxuries in my life. I want most of the luxuries that I have got in my life. You can pay the initial expenses will pay for the maintenance after I approve of he safe-house. So what do you say Harry do w have a deal."

"Do you realize how paranoid you sound right now Daphne?"

"I don't care how Paranoid I sound. Its better to be safe than sorry. The wizarding world is not big enough to hide but the muggle world is and most pure bloods wont even know where to start looking."

"Alright Daphne. I have an apartment that is overlooking Hyde Park near Kensington. You can have that. Maybe I will take you over there after the movie. It's not being used anyways."

"Alright Potter you got yourself a deal."

"Meet me near the one eyed Witch statue in the third floor corridor one hour after potions finish."


	14. Lily's Lineage

A/N: I finally got to read the reviews you guys have posted. Seeing as almost all of you don't want Harry's name to come out from the goblet he will not be competing. But he will have a role to play.

* * *

Why did I agree to this again. I swear to Merlin, Potter is going to be the end of me. I have been waiting here for 15 minutes now and he still hasn't shown up. If this turns out to be a prank set up by Astoria and Harry I am going to kill them, Azkaban be dammed.

"Hey Daphne, you're here earlier than I expected." Potter called out as he rounded the bend. It seemed as if he had cleaned up and was wearing muggle clothing. He did look good in what he was wearing, whatever he was wearing. I don't understand muggle clothing that much. The black leather jacket seemed to hug his body and his dark blue pants seemed to go well with the jacket. I wonder what that material is. It looks quite rough.

"Potter you were supposed to be here half an hour earlier. Not tell me that I am earlier 30 minutes after the agreed upon time." Okay so I was 15 minutes late than what we agreed upon but he should have been here waiting for me not me waiting for him, especially when I was late too.

"Where to now Potter?"

"We have some time left. Its just 4:30 and the movie starts at 6. So I decided we could go see the apartment that you wanted from me and also change into some muggle clothing."

"That's all well and good Potter but how are we supposed to get out of Hogwarts?"

"After you my lady" He said as he opened the secret passageway behind the statue of the 'one eyed witch'. Huh, I guess Harry does have a lot of secrets. I really didn't think he would know a way out of Hogwarts guess there is no turning back from this.

"Really Potter I didn't think you would be dumb enough to meet up near the secret entrance. What if someone saw us and this passageway gets blocked."

"Well I didn't exactly think about that but who said that this is the only passageway that I know that will take me out of Hogwarts." He said proudly as if he knew the whole castle in the back of his mind.

"You talk as if you remember most of the tower" I comment as I make my way through the passageway. It seems as this passageway is used quite frequently. The dust doesn't seem to be thick in the floor and there are many footsteps going both ways.

"I actually know all the parts of the castle since last year."

"Oh really, so you know where Salazar's secret chamber is?"

"Yah, its in the second floor girls bathroom where Moaning Myrtle lives." I stop midway and just look at him. Why does this guy say things of such importance with so much ease and casualness.

"And you know this because."

"I know this because I frequent it quite often. It's a treasure trove of magic that Salazar discovered during his life."

"And not many people know about this and its secret knowledge because?"

"First nobody knew where the chamber was and the one who did just cared about how useful Sasha was to him. Then again he was never allowed to explore the chamber as much as I have. It would have been too dangerous after Myrtle died. The second is that there are only 2 people left in the world that can understand what is written in those tomes."

"Hmm. So I can guess that you are one of the two that can read those tomes while the other person is the one who opened the chamber 52 years ago when Professor Hagrid was expelled."

"Yup only the two of us can open the chamber or read the tomes, that is unless he or me have children. I know for a fact that the other person can't have children anymore it will only be my offspring that can read those tomes."

"What about your wife, will you teach her how to read the tomes? After all those tomes sounds similar to a family tome or family book on magic that a particular family has created or specializes on."

"I don't know exactly. I guess I will know about it when I get married but if I have to make a guess then it would most probably be no. Its not that I don't want to but its written in a language that cant be taught."

"There aren't many languages that cant be taught and most of them are languages of the magical beast. So if I were to make a wild guess then it is most likely written in Parseltounge."

"10 points to Slytherin."

"So you are a Parselmouth. I thought the Potters were Gryffindors to the core."

"Ah well its actually from my mothers side of the family"

"Wait, so your muggleborn mother is a descendent of Salazar Slytherin?"

"Yah apparently she is a descendent of a squib in the Slytherin Line. I saw her name and mine in the family tapestry that is in the chamber. One of his personal journals also say that my green eyes is also from the Slytherin line. In his journal he says that these green eyes belonged to the woman who stole his heart, who then became his wife. These eyes has in his line since his son with that woman."

"I didn't know Slytherin had a love interest. I always thought he was a blood lusting villain from a children's storybook"

"There are a lot of things that History has left out about Salazar. He wasn't as blood thirsty as it claims him to be and neither was he that scary. He say's that Rowena was the scariest of the four founders. Apparently she was a closet sadist and liked to torture people. Apparently Godric and Salazar were her favourite victim for when she was bored or when they did something that she did not approve of."

Those tomes must hold a lot of history about what actually happened at that time and a lot of stories of about the founders."

"Yah it does. Lots of it too."

"What else is there are there some spells and potions that he made in the tomes. Will you teach or publish any of his finding? If you are can I see some of the potion recipes that he invented? Maybe I can use some for the apothecary." Oh think about the possibilities. Harry could earn Billions of Galleons by selling those Tomes. They must be priceless even if nobody could read them.

"Now Daphne you should know better to ask about family secrets. Plus I haven't read them yet. Its really difficult to get inside the chamber without anyone noticing plus I started reading from the chambers library since last year. So I don't know exactly what is written in the tomes. I started through his personal journal though. I wanted to understand more about Salazar and why he did things the way he did. " He said a little mischievously. He did seem like joking but I know he didn't want me to press. I need to give him his space and let him tell me things at his own pace.

"Now that you know what the language is you can guess who opened the chamber 52 years ago." He asked seeing as I didn't comment.

"As the only known Parselmouth is Voldemort then it should be him but I never knew Voldemort went to Hogwarts."

"You don't think Voldemort is actually a name do you?" Oh my god. You don't mean that the Dark Lord is not even a Lord. Obviously nobody will know if Lord Voldemort went to Hogwarts when its not even his real name. There is no family called Voldemort, not even in France where the name has its roots.

" Isn't it amazing how fickle the Pure-bloods are." Harry continued. "A man with nothing but a name who claimed to be Salazar Slytherin's heir with not even a single record of his existence before he started his campaign became the greatest Dark Lord in history. Not even one person even cared to if he claimed who he was they just followed him like sheep guided by the Shepard. They claimed they were fighting for blood purity and removing the tainted blood from the wizarding world but it was the 'pure-blood' that was spilt the most."

I just nodded in agreement lost in my own thought as we walked through the pathway thinking about how ridiculous the whole notion of the last war was.

"So it's all true then, The story about the Chamber being open in our second year where Longbottom and Weasley going there to rescue a student."

"Yes it was"

"Do you know what was causing the petrification? It was caused by the beast that is said to have been put their by Slytherin himself."

"Sasha is not a beast." He exclaimed a little offended at my question. "She is gentle, loving, caring and the is the last line of defense Salazar himself gave the responsibility to before he left Hogwarts. She is just like a mother hen and the students are her children."

"How do you know all this about about about, well what ever 'SASHA!' is."

"Well by interaction with Sasha of course. She didn't have anyone to talk to for almost 900 years after Salazar left and now that I have taken up residence in the Chamber after I got kicked out of Gryffindor towers I get to spend most of my nights with Sasha's pleasant company."

"This guy is completely bonkers."

"EXPLAIN! Everything from the beginning, there are too many questions about the chamber, This Sasha thing, its as if you can talk to her and there is only one creature that ticks all the boxes and I don't want to believe that there is such a creature living under Hogwarts. I am calling in the favour you owe me for going along with this stupid plan of yours. I want to know everything."

"But Daphne it's a very long story. If I start now we might miss the movie and it was very hard to get those tickets. Okay I will tell you everything about the chamber but just not now."

"Alright Harry I will drop it for now and I wont pester you much about the whole thing till you are ready to tell me. Just tell me when."

"After Halloween. I'll not be in the right frame of mind till Halloween passes. The next weekend after Halloween, the two of us can sit down and talk about the Chamber, just give me my space till then."

"Alright Harry. I'll give you your space. Till that time lets have some fun for now. Lets see how entertaining the muggle-world can be." With that we approached the end of the pathway.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about that. It was supposed to be a date but I couldn't skip such an important conversation. Harry will explain what exactly happened about the chamber after Halloween. Hope you are having fun.


	15. Oh! Potter

With a pop we apparated into a room as soon as we left Honeydukes. The room that I apparated into seemed to be a sitting area. The room wasn't over crowded with furniture either. It had a few sofa's and coffee table, a grand piano, a black box that was placed on something that looked like a book shelf which seemed to be hosting a collection of books which oddly looked the same in size. They looked more like book sized boxes.

"Welcome to your new safe house. This is quite a prime property in Park Royal. I got this property for being the maximum share holder in the construction firm but its been sitting here idle for quite some time now. I some here from time to time mostly with Nymphadora but you can have it if you want. So do you like what you see?"

"This reception area is quite comfortable and spacy. The limited furniture portrays the room to be bigger than it should be and there is room for improvements too. Maybe I can add a fire place here and an alcohol bar near that door. A few paintings would look better in the bland walls too. The view from the balcony is also nice and it seems to be quite high too. However that black box needs to go. It takes up a lot of space and it just looks hideous. What is that thing anyway."

"Daphne that is a television." Harry said with horror in his voice as if I had said Voldemort was starting his reign of terror again. Why does he have to be so dramatic for a stupid black box. "Do you know how expensive that is. It's the future of the entertainment industry I tell. Its going to be the invention that starts a new revolution of the entertainment business by the millennium ends. "

"Why should this affect me. I like my books just as they are, they do not need to be replaced at all."

"Lets see if you say that after we finish with the movie. If you say that movies are better than books then I will tell you exactly what the television dose."

"I still thinks books are better."

"Well moving on, the apartment has a kitchen and 5 bedrooms but 3 only 3 of them are being used as bedroom. One room has been turned into a study while the other has been turned into a library. There is a constant supply of water and electricity and the building has a generator if the power goes out. Also there is an underground parking if you ever get a car too. If you want you can also hire a mid to come clean your house but I prefer using the house elves.

"For now you can go change in the master bedroom. There is a change of fresh clothes that you can wear for tonight. Its charmed to auto adjust when you were them. The room also has a bathroom and you can do your magic here, the ministry wont be able to catch you but don't go overboard. It might break the lights in the room or cause an electric short circuit"

"What's an electric short circuit?"

"Just don't use powerful magic. Standard power level is equivalent to the levitation spell nothing more than."

I just nod and head to the master bedroom to change. The bedroom was quite regal looking but a little cramped to my liking. There was a walk through cupboard which led to the bathroom which was nice and then there was a dressing table. The bed took up a lot of space and so did the bedside table. The balcony seemed to be overlooking Hyde Park and it did have a marvelous view.

On the bed there was the change of clothes that harry talked about. There was a t-shirt a white turtleneck sweater and a very slim pair of pants. When I changed into them the clothes seem to just seem to hug my body and show my figure. Now I am not ashamed of showing my figure, I am quite proud of my figure but I don't just show it to anybody and wasn't overly comfortable with them. However I did like the material. The shirt seemed to made out of cotton while the sweater seems like wool, I'm not sure exactly. The material the pants were made of were quite good actually. It seemed to be similar to what Harry was wearing but it seemed softer and much more stretcher than his. I have to ask him what this material is.

After I finished changing I met Harry in the kitchen and it seemed as if he had brought us our dinner. He presented me with a plate and it had some French fries and something that looked similar to a sandwich. There was a grilled patty of beef and lots of vegetables and melted cheese that seemed to be sandwiched between a bun. It was circular in shape and was quite big in size. I don't even know where to begin eating this. Do I eat it with my hands or with a folk and knife.

"I hope you are hungry cause I brought some cheeseburgers."

"What's a cheeseburger?"

"Its like a sandwich with lots of delicious fillings."

"Okay but it doesn't look so delicious to me. It looks like someone just took a bun stuffed it with god knows what and grilled meat. How do you even eat this stuff. I don't even know where to start cutting it with my knife. Why does it have to be round, can't they make it rectangular like a regular sandwich."

"Umm, Daphne you are supposed to eat it with your hands. Like any other sandwich really"

"do you see how big that is Harry. Your mouth may be big enough to fit that in but my isn't I really don't want to get my hands dirty eating that thing. Can't we eat something else."

"But it's a burger. Everyone loves a cheeseburger."

"So? That doesn't even look like a sandwich to me. I really don't understand how you can stuff something. I think I'll just have the patty and the French fries, you can have the rest if you like." So with that I just ate the patty while harry watched me in horror. I think Potter is regretting the idea of bringing me tonight.

"Next time we go out I am taking you to eat fish and chips or maybe pizza and you are not allowed to say anything bad about them."

"Well if you feed me something that looks edible and actually fits in my mouth I wont insult your choice of food."

"Never mind, If you are done we can go to the movie theater. Its going to start in 15 minutes. I need to buy you popcorn and coke seeing as you didn't eat your dinner properly."

With that we apparated into a dark alley where. It was quite cold outside. I was glad it wasn't raining though. I really don't want to get wet. There wont be any hot cocoa or a warm fire to sit in front of when we get inside a theater and I wont even be able to cast a warming charm in muggle London.

We walk for a few minutes before we enter a building that looks like a theater. The streets seemed to be quite crowded and I was amazed how easily Harry blend in with them. I have seen many articles about wizards making a fool of themselves in the muggle world but Harry looked quite comfortable with what he was doing.

"Hey Daphne you said you wanted to learn blending in the muggle world right so your first lesson in muggle 101 is using muggle currency." He handed me a purse which seemed to hold come bank notes or promissory notes but was quite different from the one we use.

"Alright so do you see that shop over there. The one that looks like its selling food." I just nod "Now I want you to go over there and buy combo meal 4. When they ask which drink you want say coke. Don't say anything else alright." I nod a second time. Combo meal 4, got it. "So a combo meal 4 cost 10 pounds. Pounds is the muggle currency. And this note here is a 10 pounds note. When he asks you to pay just hand him over this note. DO you understand?" I nod a third time. This does seem quite stupid he's treating me as if I am a 4 year old that doesn't know anything at all but I don't voice my displeasure. Its better to just play along then to make a scene.

I follow the instruction and do exactly what Harry told me to do. I feel quite proud right now that I made my first purchase in the wizarding world and I didn't make a fool out of myself.

"well done Daphne." Harry congratulated me. "Now lets go I got the tickets and the movie is about to start."

We hurried to the theater and took out seats. There was a big screen in front of us and there were some texts being projected on it about behavior in the theater.

"So what did you make me buy" I asked Harry as we waited for the movie to start.

"This is called popcorn" he said as he pointed to the things that were in the large paper bowl. "Its made of corn and is coated with butter and salt." I took a few and popped them into my mouth. It was quiet crunchy and had a lot more salt than my liking but it was a good snack to nibble along to. Very similar to Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans but in one flavor.

"and the drink is called coco cola" I take a sip of the drink and the drink just fizzles in my mouth giving it a very ticklish feeling. It was sweet and refreshing and went well with the popcorn.

"What is this stuff made of. Its quite good."

"Well its made up of a lot of things, I don't know what exactly they are."

"Yah well they should sell this in Diagon Alley too. Its quite refreshing and would be great during a hot day. How come we don't have this"

"Hey don't ask me, I'm just a kid that doesn't know anything about business." I snort at that. I was going to comment about it when the screen theater started to go dark and a plesent tune started to be played. There were a few fire works that went off on the screen and it zoomed out to show a beautiful castle with the words 'Walt Disney Pictures' below it.

"Oh the movie is starting" Harry said with excitement. "Now just sit back, eat your popcorn drink your coke and enjoy the experience."


	16. Too Gryffindor For My Taste

"Oh my god! that was awesome. You have to agree with me when I say that the muggles have created such masterful inventions without the use of magic. And what masterful story telling. This didn't look like a kids movie at all. I was really heart broken when Simba was exiled from his own home. Then he meets Timone and Pumba, weren't the two fantastic. I am so glad Simba met them. I loved the interaction between Rafiki. Then the final confrontation with his uncle. For a moment there I thought Scar might kill him but Simba managed to overpower scar. Then he becomes a great ruler just as his father wanted him to be."

"And there's the Gryffindor that I have been looking for." I said as Harry finished his oh so excited speech about the movie. I was starting to wonder why Harry was sorted into Gryffindor. From what I have seen from him he's has more Ravenclaw qualities than a Gryffindor. He's too analytical and always tries to get all the facts before making a decision. I haven't ever seen Harry make a rash gryffindor decision.

"What do mean? Don't tell me you didn't like it. That movie was awesome and it was made without magic. You have to be impressed with what they have done." Harry said a little defensively. The hurt in his eyes were as if I stole a candy from a baby.

"I am not saying it was not incredible. I loved the whole concept of movies and it is more entertaining than a book. Plus it covers more grounds in less time that we would take reading a book. The animations also took my breath away. I really loved how colorful the whole movie was and I enjoyed the songs. Some of them were really catchy like the Hakuna matata song. I really liked the whole experience from the popcorn till the last song" I told him so that he doesn't feel too bad. It was an honest answer too. Its not that I didn't enjoy the evening. I had a great time.

"So why do I sense a big but somewhere." Harry asked.

"Well that's because the story was too Gryffindor for my taste."

"What do you mean too Gryffindor? How can a movie be too Gryffindor?"

"First we start with the lead. It's a Lion, the movie is about Lion. How much more Gryffindor do you want it to be. If you want to tell a story about a prince being exiled from his own kingdom why not use humans. There is no way that story could not have been told using humans instead of Lions."

"Then there is the main character Simba himself. I mean that guy is the typical description of a Gryffindor. When he is young he is arrogant and cocky. Then something bad happens which causes him to grow up and become a wise and noble leader. Tell me one famous Gryffindor that was not arrogant as a kid and then became heroic after his ordeal."

"Then there is the recklessness of Simba himself. Okay I understand there the motto Hakuna Matata but come, he was responsible for the death of his father and he does nothing about it. The guy spends years living a carefree life. Not even a life of adventure to finally becomes noble king. The guy doesn't even understand what hardships his own subjects would face in their life. Simba's character development was nothing but poor. They could have made it so much better."

"Oh and don't even get me started on the plot. There are so many plot holes. We just talked about every villain having some good in them to. How they are what they are due to the circumstances they face. And Scar here was your typical bad guy that the brave gryffindor beats at the end of his story. A ruthless tyrant that has power because he got it through nefarious means."

The guy asked me to run away from school just to show me a cliché Gryffindor plot story. Why can't he have taken to show me something else. Its not like I am the type of girl that just likes sappy romance stories. No, I like things that has back stabbing, cunningness and rivalry too. Something that keeps you excited and keeps you guessing till the end. I am sure he could have picked a better movie than 'Lion King'.

"What's wrong with it being Gryffindorish. Plus it was supposed to be a kids movie. Something simple that would keep the kids entertained and teach them some important lessons in life. That's how most kids movies are where the hero comes in and saves the day." Harry was really trying to justify the movie.

"No wonder Gryffindor houses so many muggleborn if they watch these types of movies in their childhood. All the kids care about is being a hero then to pursue knowledge or cunningness. These kids would be growing up aspiring to be hero's and gryffindor is just the right place for them."

"You enjoyed the movie so stop whining about it."

"I am not whining about the experience."

"But you have been whining about everything today evening. First you start with the television, then the burger and then the movie too. What did you like in the whole experience."

"I quite enjoyed my time with you and I wouldn't mind going to the movies with you again if you ever need me to. I am just saying that the story was too gryffindor for my taste. Maybe next time when you choose a movie, choose something with a little more Slytherin's in it too. This whole experience was quite new to me and was fascinated by the muggle world. I may not have enjoyed some of the things but that doesn't mean I do not appreciate the whole experience. Learn from your mistakes Harry and maybe you'll learn how to show a girl a good time. It might come in handy when you get a girl-friend."

"So you aren't against coming to the movie again or running away from school to the muggle world?" He seemed to be a little relieved.

"No I am not. I did quite enjoy the evening but it was far from perfect. It was a new experience and I don't think I would have got such an opportunity if not for you so for that I appreciate what you did. All I am saying is that make better choices the next time and also consider your other person's wants too. Don't be selfish."

"So where to now Harry?"

"Umm its about to be 8 now so we should be heading back. We can go back to the apartment so we can change into your robes. We don't want the ice-queen to be wearing muggle clothes now do we."

"No, No we don't." with that we apparated to his apartment where we changed into our normal robes. After that we apparated back to Hogsmade and made our way back to the castle.

"Hey Harry" I called out as we made our way through the secret pathway.

"Hmm."

"What ware the pants made of that I wore today? I really liked the material but I don't think we use it in the magical world."

"Oh they are made of Denim and are called jeans. You know I can take you shopping one weekend in the muggle world. You might like it. They have so many variety of shops for clothes, shoes, make up and what not."

"That might not be a bad idea. Can we do it during the summer break. That way we can get Tracy to come along too. Maybe Hannah and Susan might be interested too."

"That might not be a bad idea. We can take Astoria along too, that way I wont be too bored when you girls go all out shopping while she can keep me company."

"Oh that reminds me. How are you so close to Astoria."

"She hasn't told you yet?"

"No she hasn't. I didn't feel like prying."

"Well I don't know when exactly we became best friends but the first time I met her was when we were boarding the Hogwarts express for the first time. That time you had already boarded the train and Astoria and your mother were waiting for your father to join them after leaving your belongings in the express. After I had dropped my stuff in the compartment and was saying goodbye to Aunt Andy, I saw your mother."

"Now I had already been introduced to your mother through Mrs. Alice and as she was a friend of my mother I thought I should at least greet her. That was when your mother introduced me to Astoria. Then Astoria was really sad cause you were going to Hogwarts. She really wanted to go with you. I felt really sorry for her. She looked so cute that day, wearing that yellow sundress and pouting all the time, I imagined her as if she was the sister that I never had. So I promised her to write and tell her all about my Hogwarts experience."

"Which you did."

"Yes I wrote to her almost every week. From that day onwards. I told her everything that was happening in Hogwarts and she wrote me back about her time in the manor. Though I may not have told her about my past I did tell her most of what was going on in my life at Hogwarts."

"Then there were the holidays. As you know that I took a job during the summer break at your apothecary, that's when we started to get really close. I spent a lot of time with Astoria out there. She would come with her mother and would follow me around or help me with what I was doing. I also got to explore Diagon Alley with her. During my breaks the two of us would head to Florien's for Ice-cream. Plus I would bring her cookies every day."

"That wasn't very dramatic as I thought it would be. So you were the friend that she always wanted but never had."

"I guess."

"Thanks Harry. For being there for my sister when she needed it the most."

"Hey, its not like I didn't get anything in return."

"Yah you got a friend too. What do you see her as Harry. Is she just a friend to you or does she mean more to you too."

"She does mean more to me than just as a friend. I see her as the sister that I never had."

"And what about when she grows up. I know you have noticed how she looks at you. It may be a childish crush now Harry but what about when she grows up. Will you just see her as a sister then Harry,"

"To be honest Daphne, I don't know. Maybe she will out grow the childish crush when she grows up but I don't have an answer to your question."

* * *

A/N: and that concludes the date. What do you think? Hope you enjoyed it. I know I had fun writing it.


	17. You Tricked Me

_Dear Daphne,_

 _I got a very strange letter today from one Andromeda Tonks. The letter was a contract for a 5 bedroom apartment in Park Lane overlooking Hyde Park. The letter says that this deal was made between the Potter and Greengrass heir on the 21_ _st_ _of October 1994. The contract also states that the flat is worth 1,000,000 Galleons but the purchase price is agreed for 750,000 Galleons._

 _As head of house I have used my power to cancel this deal between the two families. We are not in need of any property right now and neither are we looking to invest in muggle London. The next time you make a please do inform your family if not consult. I do not want to know that you have made some ridiculous purchase no matter how profitable the venture may be._

 _Your Loving Father,_

 _Daniel Greengrass._

That was the letter I got on the 30th of October during lunch. My day was going splendidly till that letter arrived. I had finished my homework for the weekend and was planning to spend my day with Tracy till the other schools arrive but looks like those plans will have to wait. First I need to find one Harry Potter and freeze him naked and put him for display in the great hall.

How dare he pull a fast one on me. No one pulls a fast one in the ice queen in Slytherin. We had a deal and he sends my father the details so that he can worm out of it. How dare he. I swear to Merlin I am going to humiliate him in front of the whole school for this stunt.

"Astoria" I called out from my table.

"Just a minute Daphne" She answered me and stated to hurry what ever she was doing. True to her word she was sitting next to me in a minutes time. "So dear sister of mine. What seems to have caused your blood to boil this time."

"Daphne's angry." Tracy said a little surprised . "How can you tell Astoria? She seems normal to me. The same old stoic icy look. Not even a hint of frustration can be seen in her face"

"Oh that's an easy answer is very easy if you know where to look." Astoria answered, which is not helping with my temper right now. I need to get to find Potter and torture him not listen to Astoria's wise racks.

"Astoria where is he?" I demanded.

"Who are you talking about Daphne? I know a lot of hes" There she goes with her witty quips again and I really don't have time for her games.

"You know your best buddy Harry Potter."

"Harry should be at the quidditch pitch right now. Some of the guys are playing a pick up game seeing as there is no Quidditch this year, the pitch is free for all. He said that they were playing a magical version of football with 11 players on each team with only beaters and chasers…" she was starting of with her explanation about the game but I didn't care. I just stood up from my table and made my way to the quidditch pitch.

"Hey Daphne, wait up." Tracey called out

"Yah, I want to know what Harry did too." Astoria continued following Tracy. The two of them were trying to catch up but I am was not going to slow down from them. All I had in my mind was getting my hand on Potter.

When we reached the top of the stands I cast a sonorous charm and screamed "POTTER. GET YOUR ASS OVER HEAR." For a few seconds everyone in the pitch just froze and looked at me as if I was some strange being or something. I mean honestly haven't these guys ever seen a girl angry before.

"Potter's so dead." I overheard Tracy whisper to Astoria. I just chose to ignore there.

Potter on the other hand seemed to be a lot cooler then the others on the field. He just flew over to me on his stupid firebolt with his casual smug smile plastered on his face.

"Hey Daphne, How have you been?" He asked as dismounted from his broom to the stands. As he did that I cast a silencing charm over us so that no one could overhear our conversation.

"Oh I was having a great time till this letter came along form my father."

"So he got the contract then?"

"Yes he got the contract."

"That's great, now as soon as you transfer the money I can hand you over the keys to the apartment."

"What do you mean transfer the money. I thought we had a deal. You set me up with a safe house and I would go to the movie with you."

"You took her to the movies?" Astoria shouted. "But you promised me first Harry."

"Shut up Astoria. You can have your argument with Potter after I am done with him. So Potter explain why I have to transfer the money." I had completely in my Ice Queen mode. No this was not between friends anymore, this was pure business between the heirs of two houses and both of us understood it. He seemed to have dawned the mask of Heir Potter-Black too.

"Well heiress Greengrass, I can not just hand you over such an expensive apartment so that I can convince you to come to the movies with me. That's just too sweet a bargain for you while I get only 3 hours of your company."

"I thought we had a deal here Heir Potter where you will take care of the initial expenses while I take care of maintenance and other expenses after the purchase."

"And that is what I did. I took care of the initial expense and even paid for the lawyers that would be involved in the deal."

"So why is my father getting a contract for a payment of 750,000 Galleons and not the keys of the house."

"Ah! I see where the problem is. Heiress Greengrass are you aware of the procedure of how a house is purchased?"

"I, what? Yes I know how property is purchased, we sign a contract, make the payment and hand over the keys. What has this got to do with our problem."

"But Mrs. Greengrass you are forgetting the most important part of making the payment. You see when any real state is purchased, its payment is made through a loan for which the purchasing party provides a part of the payment after the initial signing and the rest of the money is paid with interest in agreed intervals over a period of time. This is done in such a manner because many people will be hard pressed to provide such hard coins no matter how rich they may be."

"You tricked me," I exclaimed.

"No, I did not trick you as you so elegantly put it. I did what you asked me to. I found you a place in muggle London that I can sell to you where you do not need to pay the initial expenses of the lawyers, the other charges to the government and what not for the transfer of property and the upfront payment required to make the payment. I was generous enough to skip deduct 25% of the actual cost as upfront payment. The standard rate is somewhere between 10-15%. All you need to do is pay the rest of the 75% interest free over a period of time which by the way is not included in the initial cost. So I repeat myself again Ms. Greengrass I did not trick you. I satisfied all the conditions that you presented to me all that is remaining is to sign the contract."

"I… I … … " Yah he defiantly had left me speechless. How could I have overseen such an obvious trick. Oh I want to strangle him right now but I cant help but awe at such a simple plan.

"Alright Potter, I give you this one but you still owe me for the apartment." Its hard to accept defeat but sometimes its better to retreat than to face more casualties.

"I do not understand heiress Greengrass, why do I still owe you?"

"You still owe me because the deal did not go through. My father has decided as the head of house that this deal will not go through. So instead you owe me one."

"But heiress Greengrass I did upheld my end of the bargain. Its not my fault your father cancelled the deal."

"You owe me for the risk I put myself into when I agree to be an accomplice in your plan and I still have not received a reward for that risk. I promise it wont be as far fetched or as simple as last time where you just wormed your way out of the payment. I'll just hold on to your debt for now. I'll cash it in some time later when I need it."

"No heiress Greengrass I do not owe you anything as I believe this is a payment for the disastrous evening that we had last Friday. I'll send you a contract for another house that would be more reasonable to both your father and I. I will not back of from the deal as you did have a risk and I did enjoy our time. But that time was not worth a million galleon apartment."

And with that heir Potter flew away in his stupid firebolt while I was left comprehending what just happened.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys. guess this will be the last update for the month and after which I will be taking a little break (maybe a week). I need to sort out the story too. Thanks for the review. Its really helping and improving my writing experience. Hope you can wait a while for the next update.

For those curious I am planning the Halloween, Tri-wizard tournament first task, how Harry and Daphne will become friends after the above chapter and the christmas dinner.


	18. Oh Daphne, you idiot!

"Daphne, what was all that about," asked Astoria. Right now even I don't have the answer to that. Did Potter just had a go at me. Did he just trick me to get what he wanted and left me with nothing. How did I not see this coming. I should have known this. If I wasn't the victim I would have been really impressed with what Potter pulled off but right now I am mad. I swear to Merlin if I do not get him back for this I will, I will.

"Hey Daphne," Tracy called out as she patted my shoulder to bring me back to the normal world. "Lets go. We need to go get out books from the common room. We got potions now."

"Right, we got potions right now?" I asked, rhetorically but I don't think Tracy got it. I really don't want to meet Potter right now. I think I will skip this lesson. It might help if I go get some rest. I'm too agitated right now to concentrate on a lesson and seeing Harry will just agitate me more.

"Yah, we got potions. SO we better make a move now if you don't want to be late." Tracy said.

"You go along Tracy, I am going to madam Pomfrey. I think I need some rest."

"Are you sure Daphne. You seemed fine a few minutes ago." Please get the hint Tracy. I don't want to see Potter right now.

"Yes Tracy. I think I need some head ace potion and a nap. I'll catch up to you before the delegations arrive at 6."

"Don't worry Tracy," Astoria spoke out. "I am finished with my classes today so I'll take her to the hospital wing."

With that we went our separate ways. Tracy to the dungeons while Astoria and I headed to the hospital wing.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Astoria asked as we made our way through the castle.

"No," I simply answered. I really don't want to explain myself to Astoria right now. However I know that she will still be prying about this no matter what I say. Its better get this over with now than have her following me around till she got her answers. Maybe this will help me get my mind off of things too.

"Alright I wont ask about the deal but at least tell me about the movie. Harry promised me to take me to the movies with him in the summer. I didn't expect him to take you however."

"Neither did I. I honestly thought he would take you too."

"So why did he take you then?"

"Well he said that Sirius and Nymphadora were not wiling to go and you were too young to be sneaking out of school."

"And when has age ever stopped me from doing anything"

"Exactly and I told him that too. He just ignored the comment."

"So you were his what 4th choice and he told you that"

"yup"

"Ouch. He really doesn't know how to ask a girl for a out doesn't he."

"Yah he doesn't." Right now Astoria may be joking about my predicament but inside I could see her being relieved. Maybe he should have taken Astoria rather than me. She might have enjoyed the whole experience a way more than me.

"So what was it like, the movie I mean. I really liked the concept. I story being told through pictures and sounds. It must have been amazing."

"Yah it was. I was quite amazed with the whole experience. To recognize the fact that muggles were able to create something like that and make it accessible to a large audience itself is amazing. Plus the whole animation, as Harry calls it, was just beautiful. The scenery, the songs, the dances. I loved it all. I still hum a song from that movie when no one is watching. I know you are going to love it cause I did too and you know how hard it is to impress me."

"So why did Harry call it a disastrous evening?"

"Well that's because I was acting like a bitch to him I complained the whole night about every decision he made and criticized about everything that I could think about."

"Why?"

"Well we may not recognize it but that was a date no matter how much he disagrees with it."

"So?"

"Astoria. A girl would like to feel special about a date. He just steam rolled the whole thing with what he wanted to do without even considering my feelings about it. There obviously has to be some payback if not all. If I let him steam roll me now, he will just start taking me for granted in the future. I can't let that happen now can I."

"Why are you so concerned about the future? Its not like he's going to ask you out again. Especially after what the two of you call a disastrous evening."

"I have my reasons Astoria. I'll tell them to you when the time is right."

"What are you hiding from me sis."

"Don't Astoria. Wait till Christmas and you will know. For now just let it be."

"Alright I will drop it for now but if you hurt him I'm going to hurt you too, even if you are my sister."

"I'll keep that in mind Astoria."

"Alright so what were the things that he did that made you act like a bitch."

"First I was his forth choice for taking to the movie and he just said it out right. Second he was thirty minutes late to when we were supposed to meet and when he showed up he said 'I didn't expect you to be here right now.' Third when he ordered dinner he just assumed I will like what he got because he liked it. At least he could have given me a heads up or asked before getting something new. He didn't even know about any dietaries that I have. Suppose I was a vegetarian or didn't eat beef. Then what?

I gave Astoria some time to process what I had said.

"And finally he didn't even ask me about my taste before picking the movie. I know he told me that we were going to watch Lion King before I said yes but he could have the courtesy to ask about my taste. There were some great posters that I saw in the movie theater while I was buying popcorn. There was one on a prison break called 'The Shawshank Redemption'. I also heard people talking about two movies called 'Forest Gump' and 'Pulp Fiction.' I would have really appreciated the whole experience if he would have just asked me for my opinion before he made it."

" So why the outrage in the quidditch pitch?"

"Because I didn't see it coming when he got one over me. It's a matter of my pride and honour of being the Slytherin Ice Queen. I can't just let him win. I thought we were even. I didn't even care if I got the apartment or not. I thought we had settled the events that night itself but no he had to have that last trick up his sleeve."

"So you are angry at him cause he pulled one over you and hurt your pride. Wow Daphne I thought you were smart."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"That your anger is not justified. That you are being childish and that you are risking your friendship over something so stupid as revenge. I thought you were better than this Daphne."

"You want me to just forgive him for what he did to my honour because you think its childish."

"Yes."

"Thanks for the company Astoria but I will just choose to ignore tour last comment. It seems we have arrived at the hospital wing. You can leave now."

* * *

A/N short chapter I know. I was going to post this after I came back but I decided to get it posted now so that I can end the current ark and start with the Tri-wizard ark from the next chapter. I do hope this chapter cleared some of Daphne's motives and you enjoyed the tension in the last few chapters.

And please review write your reviews before I start the next ark. Did you enjoy the whole experience, where should i improve, is there things that you want me to change. I also know that there are some plot holes left in the story and I plan to fill them up as the story goes on. Yes I will address what happened the last few years but only after Daphne gains Harry's trust which will happen after the big reveal.

Spolier plans (for those of you who can't wait): some obvious plot points

\- Harry won't be in the tournament, Neville will

\- Harry and Daphne will not go to the yule ball

-they will instead go to Daphne's manor

-At chrismas Cyprus will tell everyone about the contract.


	19. Reconciliation

"Hello Daphne" Those were the words that I woke up to in the hospital wing after my nap. I knew who it belonged to, I have been spending a lot of time with him since school started after all. Yet I didn't want to open my eyes and confirm that he was there waiting for me. I may have cooled down from the afternoon but I am still angry at him. I really don't want to have an argument in the hospital wing.

"I know you are awake Daphne." Obviously he does, why won't he. He seems to know everything. Why can't he just go mind his own business. I guess there is no running away from fate.

"What do you want Potter?" I asked with a little more venom than I initially wanted to.

"Ah! I see you still have a hostile attitude. When Tracy told the class that you are in the hospital wing I was concerned for you so I came to check in. Seeing as you don't want my company I will take my leave. Though I didn't expect you to make such a big issue with what happened today in the quidditch pitch." He said as he stood up to leave.

I really don't get him. One he acts all Lord Potter-Black a few hours ago and then he is back to his normal cheerful self. Why cant he be angry too so I don't feel guilty about being angry with him. Stupid noble git, why cant he act like a kid of his age. Why does he have to act so mature and think everything is fine. Stupid git.

"Harry wait." I called out. "Why are you here?" I asked. Might as well get this over it and take the chance that I have been given.

He turned back and smiled at me. He does have a charming smile. Even when I want to smack it right off his face. Don't be happy just because I told you to wait. You are suppose to be angry with me and I with you. Don't make me feel like I am the villain you git.

"Well Daphne I am here because I care about you. I thought we were friends and what's a deal that's gone south between friends. There will always be opportunities in the future that hold more fruitful results. Plus it also teaches you that you can not always have whatever you want." The last part he added was just to take the mickey out of me. I can see the amusement in his eyes.

"I do not have whatever I want." I know he is right about the fact that I am a spoilt princess but that doesn't mean that I am going to agree with him. look at the other spoilt kids in Hogwarts, they walk all over Hogwarts as if they own the place. At least I act like a noble aristocrat rather than a spoilt princess.

"Oh, then name me one thing that you were denied ever in your life."

'How about getting the opportunity to marry someone you love' but I am not going to tell him that. So I just ignore his comment. Its better to ignore some provocation than to say something you do not want to and regret it.

"So are we friends again?" He asked seeing as I didn't answer his question.

"I have not forgiven you for what you did." He may be acting all charming and what not but that doesn't mean I will let him go scratch free. I'm going to freeze him naked in the great hall for what he did to me today so he better watch out. I'll show him who has the last laugh at the end of the day.

"As you say my lady. We can keep business and pleasure separate if you want." He said as he bowed. He can be a real charmer when he wants to. It also helps that he has the good looks too. The way he treats me sometimes does make me feel real special sometimes. I wonder if he treats the others the way he treats me.

"Why do you do this Harry? Why do you care about me and don't give me that bull shit about me being Astoria's sister. Some of the stuff you have told me might be considered to be a persons deepest darkest secrets yet you have confided in me a lot of times. Your past, Your Animagus, Your relations with your family and don't forget the whole movie thing. So I ask you Harry why me. Why are you getting so close to me."

"I don't know the exact answers to your question Daphne. I guess its because I see you as a very intelligent and mature person who can understand me. You listen to me when I want you to and you give me my space when I need it. You don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong and I have a lot of respect for you. I have met Cyprus Greengrass and being under his tutelage meant that you were Heiress Greengrass first and not Daphne. Plus you are as enigmatic to me as I am a mystery to you."

"What do you mean Harry?"

"Come on Daphne, You and I both know that the two of us hide ourselves in our masks to the world. I hide my childhood horrors and insecurities in a cheerful mask while you portray the Slytherin Ice Queen for your reasons. While you have your reasons to try an understand why I wear my mask, I also have a reason to shed that mask of yours and see the real Daphne."

"I hope you realize that I don't wear the Ice Queen mask much when I am with you right."

"Yes I do but I still don't know the whole you. That's why I tell you so much about me so that when the time comes you will open up to me too. You intrigue me Daphne and I want to know the real you."

"So is that it. You want to know me because you are curious about me."

"Yup and the fact that the cat inside me is very possessive of you."

"What do you mean possessive."

"Oh look at the time its almost 5:30. Shall we head to the front of the castle. Its time for the classes to be over and start assembling." With that I straitened up my clothes and the two of us headed to the assembled spot. He seemed to want to drop the topic and neither did I want to pry. I really wanted to know what he meant at the end but for now its time to see the delegations arrive.

"How do you think they will be arriving," I asked now a little excited for the tournament to begin. There seemed to be a mystery about the other schools arrival. The rumor mill had a lot of speculations and some were even putting bets. The teachers seemed to be rather tight lipped about the whole ordeal too.

"I know Beauxbaton is coming by carriages but I don't know about Drumstrang."

"So you have a friend studying in Beauxbaton that you correspond with?"

"Not exactly, she is more like the elder sister that Nymphadora can't be. You know the older loving sister who wants to protect his younger brother"

"Is she related to Andromeda?"

"No, she isn't related to Andromeda. Its more like her grandparents were friends with my grandparents and we got introduced by a mutual friend when I went to France after my first year. They have quite a lovely family. I do talk to them regularly but I haven't met them in 2 years now."

"So is she coming? You know your so called sister?"

"Yah, she is and she said she would be competing in the tournament too. Her parents are not really happy with that decision they think its too dangerous."

"Obviously it is. I mean the tournament were cancelled because of the rising death rates in the competition. I don't think its worth risking your life for just a small moment of fame and a handful of coins."

"It may be a handful of coins for you Daphne but for a few families 10,000 Galleons is a lot."

"I don't deny that Harry but how do you think the students will spend the 10,000 Galleons that they will get. Only a few people here are smart enough to invest that gold while the majority will spend it by the weeks end."

"I guess you are right too but lets decide the champions first before we make a decision about how spoilt they might be. Who do you think will compete for Hogwarts?"

"I don't know, with the teachers being so tight lipped about the whole selection process I can't tell. There are quite a few candidates but Cedric from Hupplepuff seems to be a fan favourite followed by Angelina Johnson from Gryffindor."

"I guessed as much too. You don't think any Slytherins will make it?"

"Nah there aren't many talented Slytherins left in the senior years. I mean I was able to get the title of Ice Queen last year with hardly any contention. I think I am the youngest Ice Queen in the history of Slytherin. That just shows how bad the quality of Slytherin have fallen over the years. Then there is Malfoy who claims to be the Prince of Slytherin and well you know Malfoy. It's a real shame. I wish you would have been sorted to Slytherin at least I would have got to rule it with a worthy king. Especially with you being the heir of Slytherin," I teased but internally I wished he had been sorted in Slytherin. I know he would have made a great Slytherin and having him as King would be really interesting too. He would be a lot better than Malfoy if he goes uncontended.

"Why would you want me to be the King of Slytherin? You can do a good enough job to lead Slytherin. You just need to start acting your position seeing as you have no competition. Malfoy is just a brat who talks a lot. All he is going to be is a figure head. So Slytherin can be all yours and you can become the next Head of Slytherin."

"Well I want you to be the King because it is your rightful place. You are the heir of Slytherin and it is your birthright. That in itself has a very special meaning in the wizarding world. Plus it gets really boring on the top alone. With you at the top we can lead Slytherin to a new age and have fun in the process too."

"Well if you can provide me with a good offer I might just become your king of Slytherin."

"Sure a Gryffindor become the King of Slytherin. It would be talked about for ages. Just a small problem though, how would you do that if you cant even enter the common room"

"Oh but I can. You see there is a reason why your entrance is guarded by a snake. All I have to do is command it and the snake would let me in no questions asked. Any snake in the school actually."

"What! Do you mean that you can command every snake in this school and it will do your biding, be it real, statue or paining?"

"Pretty much, why else would Salazar add snakes into the decoration of the school. They were like his spy network when he was in the castle."

"You're joking right" I asked. If he can then there is no place that is out of reach from a Parselmouth. He doesn't reply though and just walks off to where his house was assembled as we exited the castle.

* * *

A/N: Hello my fellow readers. It seems that my break is going to take longer than I anticipated. I wanted to post at least one chapter a week so you guys have something to read and keep you hooked on to my story.

My Personal life seems to be really busy right now as I am moving houses so I have a lot of formalities to finish. I should be back to posting regularly after the 21st of august. if not early.  
I hope you enjoyed the update.


	20. Arrival

While the school was waiting in anticipation for the arrival of the other schools. I stood there wondering about what Harry had just said to me before we parted ways. Is there any credibility to what Harry said? Can he just waltz into the Slytherin common room if he wishes to? Can the snakes that have been placed all over campus by Slytherin himself be controlled? Can Harry become the king of Slytherin? There are so many questions that I want to ask him yet I am afraid to know some of the answers.

Just thinking about Harry and me ruling Slytherin together intrigues me. We can do so much. We already know that Malfoy can't do shit in front of Harry though and with Malfoy neutralized there wont be much competition. I do hope that Harry has enough power to back up his knowledge, if he can then he can duel with any of the opposition that he faces with the senior years. It also helps that Harry has a good reputation in the house. The only question remains is if Harry is speaking the truth about the snakes.

I don't even want to acknowledge the fact that he may have powers that some of us can only imagine in our dreams. Could it be that the most influential person in wizarding Britain after Dumbledor is attending Hogwarts with us but is being overshadowed by the boy-who-lived. I have seen many sides of him in the past 2 months and I know that he has what it takes to yield such power and influence but I wonder what route he will take and how the people will react to him. Longbottom already seems to have labeled Harry as a Dark Lord in the making and if Longbottom does become the next leader of the light, what will it mean for Harry?

"Daphne look, flying steads over there." Tracy shouted with excitement. True to her words 12 massive Pegasus pulled a carriage that was as big as a house. The horses were white in color while the carriage was powder-blue. They seemed to glide through the air and landed right in front of the students at a tremendous speed. Looking around some of the first years seemed to have been frightened by the imposing horses.

"That should be the Beauxbaton delegation." I said, remembering Harry saying something about carriages for the Beauxbaton delegation. I really wasn't expecting them to be pulled by flying horses. At least they are giving us a show. I wonder if Drumstrang could pull a better performance. Most of the students broke out in applause as the half giant of a principle and the students made their way out of the carriages and to their living quarters.

"How do you think Drumstrang is going to arrive in?" Asked Millicent now that the Beauxbaton delegation had cleared out and we waited for the Drumstrang students.

"I don't know. I hope they put on a spectacular show as the Beauxbaton did. Its not usual for us to see a Pegasus in England."

"Everyone look at the lake," Lee Jordan yelled.

It wasn't as fast as the Beauxbaton. Slowly and steadily a ship started to rise from the water and glided to the bank. A few minutes later we heard the anchor drop and come to a halt. The students disembarked and made their way to the castle.

"Hey is that Igor Karkaroff," one of the elder students commented as the two headmasters greeted each other. "Seems to be having quite a luxurious life for an ex-death-eater."

"Daphne, Daphne," Tracy shouted into my ears with excitement. "Look Daphne, its Victor Krum. He's with the Beauxbaton delegation. Oh my god! We are going to spend a year with Victor Krum in the same school. Its like a dream come true. He was the last person I was expecting to be here and look here he is. Oh this is just fabulous. Hey Daphne do you think he'll give me an autograph?"

"Tracy calm down. Krum is going to be here throughout the year. You can ask his for an autograph whenever you want." I told her as I tried to calm her down. Tracy can be really hyper when she is excited. "Now its almost time for dinner so why don't we head to the great hall"

Dinner was a very excited affair with the Drumstrang students sitting with the Slytherins. It seemed that Longbottom and Weasley were not all that happy with how Malfoy and his gang was chumming up to Krum but they were smart enough to not do anything stupid. Well at least Granger was smart enough to hold them to their leash.

There were quite an outcry when Dumbledore announced that there is going to be an age limit for putting your name forward. I think it is a good idea though. This way the competitors would be in an equal footing and would be responsible for their actions. This way many of the younger students won't be making a fool of themselves either.

"What do you think Daphne?" Pansy asked me as Dumbledore finished his speech.

"Sorry what was that again?" I asked Pansy. She wasn't pleased that I was not paying attention to her. She was about to say something but Tracy spoke first.

"Well," Tracy picked up the conversation. "We were talking about who would be the three champions. I think its going to be Krum for Drumstrang."

"You say that just because you are a fan-girl." Pansy retorted. Clearly showing her distaste about being interrupted.

"You got a problem with that Parkinson. So what if I am a fan-girl. I acknowledge the fact that I am a fan. That way I don't need to hide who I am."

"Anyways" I interrupted before Tracy said something that she would regret later. "What do you guys think about the other schools?"

"I think Drumstrang's full of hunky guys. They look really beefed up and they have Krum with them too. Krum's going to win any of the flying tasks hands down if he becomes a champion. Even their principle seems to be rooting for Krum by the looks of it. Must be really demoralizing for the other competitors." Tracy said.

"Yah but the students seem to agree to the fact that Krum is superior to them. If they already acknowledge that then definitely Krum's going to get selected." Millicent added.

"How will a goblet know that Millie?" Pansy asked a little confused about what Millicent was talking about. For which Millicent just sighed. I don't think Pansy will get it even if we explained it.

"What about Beauxbaton?" I asked so that we avoided Pansy's question.

"I don't know really. Everyone of them seem to be more like dolls and princesses than competitors." Pansy said seeming a bit jealous of the French beauty and how the boys seemed to be staring at them. Well at least those that were not talking to Krum and the other Drumstrang Students.

"Yah well looking pretty hasn't stopped a witch from not being powerful." Tracy said to which all the girls in our table agreed. Just because a girl likes being pretty doesn't mean she wont get her hands dirty.

"Speaking of Beauxbaton, Potter seems to be really chummy with a girl who he just met." Millicent said to which all of us turned to the Ravenclaw table where Harry was talking to a really beautiful blonde girl from Beauxbaton. Many of the boys seem to be drooling at her while others seemed to be acting as if she was a veela but looking at Harry seemed to be unfazed by her beauty or charm. I guess that was the girl harry was talking about earlier.

"Astoria doesn't seem to like the French girl very much, does she?" Tracy whispered into my ears. When I looked over to Astoria, her displeasure was quite evident in her face. It seems like Astoria didn't like people taking away her Harry time. I wonder if she realizes that Harry might not always be with her in her life. I really hope, for her sake that she moves on from her childhood crush.

"No she doesn't." I agreed with Tracy.

"Man we should really ask Potter for tips," one of the senior boys said. "Yah he seems to be friends with all the hot girls in school and seems to be making friends quite fast with the Beauxbaton delegation too. I wonder if he might introduce us to some of the girls."

I just ignored the rest of the conversation. I really don't want to hear about boys talking about those stiff. Really why are these guys even sorted in Slytherin? They hardly have any cunningness or tact in them.

"Aren't you worried Daphne?" Tracy asked seeing the agitation in my face as Harry talked with the blonde French.

"What are you talking about Tracy" I asked a little confused with where she was going.

" Everyone knows you have the hots for Potter, Daphne. Just looking at how the two of you interact with each other shows it."

"I don't have the hots for Potter" Do I really show my agitation to them. I mean I cant stand the fact that my betrothed is acting all chummy with another girl that I don't know anything about. I mean which girl wont feel a little agitated about that.

"Oh please" Pansy snorted. "Why do you think non of the boys have asked you out yet. It seems that the whole Slytherin has established the fact that you and Potter are an item and that you are now labeled in the restricted section. Plus there is some news going around the pureblood circle that your father already signed a contract for you with a very powerful family yet no one knows who. There are only a few families that can yield such power and the blacks are one of them. Now seeing how the two of you have started acting all chummy to each other after the news of your contract. There isn't much room for speculation."

"How come I am getting to know this now?" I asked. Wow I wonder if they realize how correct they are with their speculation.

"Its just speculation Daphne. Plus nobody wanted to incur the wrath of the Ice Queen if the information was wrong."

"So is it true?" Tracy asked noticing how I had dodged the question.

"Well I am not aware of any contracts that my 'father' signed for my betrothed. If he has then he hasn't told me about it yet." That was a close one. With that the 4 of us start talking about the tournament and what speculating about what type of tasks the champions will have to face.


	21. Halloween breakfast

It's Halloween morning and the whole school is buzzing with excitement. Everyone seems to be in high spirits with who has put their names in the goblet and everyone seems to be looking forward to the champion selection. Well almost everyone. The person who generally sits besides me for breakfast seems to be running late and if I had to make a guess, he wont be in a good mood when he arrives.

With him missing I also have the time to see what's going around me for breakfast. Apparently what the girls said about me and Harry being given the space that a couple need is actually true. It seems like no one sits near us during the meal except Tracy and the girls. No one's even caring to occupy Harry's seat. Are the two of us that obvious to everyone?

When Harry walked in he seemed to look very drained and his eyes were very red. It clashed very badly with his usual green. He didn't look his usual self at all. His eyes were distant and his body shrunk as small as possible. It seemed as if he was trying to hide himself. I don't think he even wanted to be here.

As usual Harry took his seat beside me but he didn't say anything. He filled his plate with some porridge and started eating. He didn't even wish anyone good morning. Some of the students were confused with his actions and why he was acting the way he did. Apparently there wasn't anybody that understood that today was the day Harry lost his parents.

"Hey little brother," the blonde from yesterday called out Harry as she sat in front of him. "Why do you look so sad. They wouldn't want for you to look this miserable today now would they? They would want you to stay the strongest for them today of most days. Wouldn't you agree Ms…." She said looking at me.

"Yes they would and Its Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass." I replied. Seems to be a smart woman.

"Ah! You must be young Astoria's sister." She commented to which I nodded. "Hello, and I am Fleur Delacour."

"So Daphne are you the same Greengrass that has been partnered with Harry for potion?" She asked to which I nodded. " Ah it's so good to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you. Harry doesn't seem to stop talking about you in his letter." To which I blushed.

"Oh really." Tracy commented as she seemed to be interested in the conversation. By the look in Harry's face, it seemed that Harry was really trying to stop Fleur but she wasn't paying any attention to him.

"Hello, I am Tracy Davis. Daphne's best friend."

"And I am Fleur Delacour, Harry's caring elder sister."

"So what has Harry been telling you about our dear old Daphne."

"Well Harry here mostly talks about what an incredible witch she is. He keeps on praising her intelligence and skill with the wand. Though it's a shame Harry didn't talk about how gorgeous she looks"

"Fleur" Harry whined but the two of them didn't care.

"So is there anything going on between the two of them that he has left out in the letters" Fleur asked Tracy at the cost of our embarrassment. Harry was trying to really stop Fleur but he was failing miserably. I on the other hand didn't know what to do. I know I was being teased too but Harry looked too cute while he was embarrassed and it was rare to see Harry in the back foot. For now I just swallowed my pride and watched the show in front of me.

"Well apparently Harry took Daphne to muggle London for a date last Friday but it was a disaster. They had a really big fight about it yesterday after lunch but everything seems hunky-dory now. I guess it was a small lovers quarrel."

"Oh really" Fleur said with excitement. "Oh Harry why did you left out such details in your last letter. You naughty boy, you don't need to hide stuff about your girlfriend from family. Penny and Nick would be so glad that you found someone. They were worried when you showed no interest to girls when you came over you know."

"Fleur I was 11 then." Harry whined. "And would you tell them to please stop harassing me about finding a girl. I mean I get it, they got married at 15 and 16 but they are too old. The world doesn't work as it did when they were young. Let me take my time alright."

"Oh Harry you are so easy to rile up." Fleur said as she laughed along with Tracy. "See sweet brother of mine. Its not that hard to laugh and enjoy even on this day. Its so much better when you smile than brooding all day."

Apparently wishing for Harry to have a happy Halloween was too much as Longbottom and his gang made their way to our table.

"Good morning Fleur, Why don't you join me and my friends for breakfast in the Gryffindor table." Well at least Longbottom had the decency to be polite and ask. His friend however doesn't seem to be doing much good. Weasley seems to be gawking at Fleur as if she was a Veela. Then I look at Harry and Longbottom but she doesn't have affected them.

"Thank you for the offer Neville, but I would like to have my friends with Harry today. Maybe tomorrow." I can see that Longbottom isn't really happy with her decision but he keeps quite about it but that doesn't mean that Weasley would.

"Why would you want to sit with a looser like him and that too with the snakes. He is just a wan-a-be dark lord in the making who sits with his usual group of wan-a-be minions. Our group is so much cooler with Neville being the next champion of the light side, Hermione the greatest witch of our generation. We can talk about the all the great adventures we have had in Hogwarts. While these guys talk about boring stuff like politics and other boring stuff like potions."

I don't think Weasley was thinking when he spoke out. I think he is really trying his hardest to impress Fleur but looking at her, she doesn't seem to be pleased. She looks as if she wants to hex the Weasley git but I can see Harry warning her not to. It wasn't only Fleur though. Most of the students who heard Weasley's words seem to be going for their wand so that they could hex Weasley.

"Please Neville, take Weasley away so that he doesn't seem to make a bigger fool of himself than he already has. We don't want all the schools to know how dumb your sidekick really is now do we." Harry taunted Longbottom. He seemed to be attracting all the attention to him so that others don't do something that would land them into trouble. Longbottom, being the Gryffindor that he is, fell for the taunt and didn't really appreciate his friends being disgraced in such a manner.

"Who are you to judge Ron, Potter." Longbottom spoke with a bit of malice in his voice.

"Why I am Harry Potter of the Noble and Ancient House of Potter of course." Harry replied a little more amusement in his voice so that Longbottom and his gang solely concentrated on him than the other students. It was helping too as many of the students seem to be relaxing and were beginning to enjoy the banter between Harry and Longbottom. That's one problem averted.

"And what will you know how to act as an Heir of a light Family."

"Oh Neville why would you think that I can't act as a member of a light family."

"Because you don't. The Longbottoms and the Potters were supposed to be brothers in all but blood yet you have never treated me with such love or respect. You stay away from me and have befriended these dark wizards in training. We could have been great together but you have just ignored the history between our families."

"It seems that Dumbledor has got you all wrapped up in his fingers. I guess all hope has left in bringing you over to my side."

"This is exactly what I am talking about. The path that you have taken just shows how big a disgrace you are to the Potter name. A wan-a-be dark lord in the rising. I can't believe you are the son of my god-mother. If she was alive and could see what you are trying to become, all they would be is disappointed in you."

"Do not bring up my mother in this Neville" Harry warned.

"Why shouldn't I. You are a Potter and being a Longbottom it is my responsibility that I bring you back to my side using any method that I can. Even if it means making you feel guilty about being a disgrace to your parents."

"Yah well if my parents were alive then they would be proud of what I have become."

Granger snorted at that. "Yah right just delude yourself more Harry. No one's parents would be proud of having a son who wants to be the next dark lord. I wonder why Neville even tries to convince us that you still have a chance. It's quite evident from the past month or so how deeply you have fallen to the dark side."

"What makes you the judge that I am Dark Granger" Harry bit back. It may have started of as Harry making fun of Weasley but the way the argument was heading seemed to have riled up both parties. This was not going to end well.

"Its not just her, Potter" Weasley added.

"Yes Harry." Neville pleaded. "My mother tells me that I should befriend you. She wants us to be like brothers but to be honest I don't think I can fulfill her wish. The past month or so we have been observing you. You show all the signs of trying to be the next dark lord. You don't sleep in gryffindor towers any more and you keep on associating with dark families. We even notice you reading books that have been considered dark. What else proof that we need to prove you Dark."

"that's your proof that I am turning dark." Harry said incredulously. "If you are going to leading the Light side Neville than I suggest that you grow up first Neville and fast too other wise this world while chew you alive and Dumbledore wont be there to save your ass."

"How dare you?" All three of them exclaimed, drawing their wands. They however did not have a chance to cast a spell as Harry drew his wands and send 3 stunners at them. The spell sit the 3 idiots square in the chest and were sent flying. With that Harry stormed off the Great Hall. Leaving a very angry group of Gryffindors behind.

* * *

A/N: Hello my dear readers. First i would like to apologies for disappointing you. I promised regular updates but here I am after a month i think after the last post. with all the things going on in my life (changing countries, changing colleges, changing courses, and all the headaches associated with changing countries) i have definitely neglected my story. I really enjoyed my time writing this story but sadly i am abandoning this story. I guess its because of a change in environment. but thats just the excuse that i use to convince myself. this was the last chapter that i wrote which apparently i didnt post. but dont worry this is not the end of my writing days though. Ill be back with a new story pretty soon. with maybe less grammatical errors than before (hopefully). And armageddon dont worry i Loved your reviews. the main reason i started to write was to improve my english and without criticism no person can improve so thank you. For those that followed this story since day one i thank you it was a fun journey there are many to name so this is a shout out to all of you. THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT. and i hope that you read my next story and find it more entertaining than my first.


	22. Authors Note

Dear Readers,

Merry Christmas. Now that i have taken a considerable leave from writing and that my college seems to be going well I am really happy to announce that I will be continuing with "the mystery named Harry Potter" and its not abandoned any more. My friends really tried their best to inspire me even using black mail to some extent to ask me to continue the story. I actually thought that I wanted to start a new story but as my friends pointed out, the new story felt very similar to this except being told from Harrys point of view instead of Daphne's. Now I don't know when I will be posting my next chapter cause I want to iron out my plans and make this story more interesting and dramatic. As always I am open to suggestions and if you have any ideas you plz feel free to leave a message.

And a very very happy new years.


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